Week 4 Discussion-Opioid Dependency
The efferent signal pathway, also called the motor nerve, mainly carries a signal to the glands and muscles. It sends signals away from the CNS (central nervous system). The brain uses efferent signals to the body to act or do something. Examples of efferent signs are blinking. Afferent signals mainly come from external stimuli. The body uses it to tell the CNS what the body is experiencing or sensing. Afferent nerves send impulses from the sensory receptors on the muscles, joints, and skin to the brain or spinal cord. It is also referred to as the sensory nerve.
Nociception is a neural process the sensory nervous system uses to encode and process noxious stimuli (Sneddon, 2017). The signal gets to the central nervous system through the nerve fiber due to the stimulation of nociceptors -which are sensory receptors specialized in the peripheral nervous system. The stimuli can be mechanical, chemical, or thermal. Nociception triggers behavioral and physiological responses resulting in perception or subjective experience of pain. It protects the body tissues from damage or harm from the environment.
Somatogenic pain is also commonly referred to as organic pain. Somatogenic lesions cause it. The lesions result from infection, trauma, and other external factors (Sullivan, 2017). Somatogenic pain is classified as neuropathic or nociceptive. Nociceptive if it originates from stimulation of pain receptors which transmit the signals to CNS. It is a neuropathic pain if it follows damage to the nervous system directly. Hyperalgesia is a condition where one’s sensitivity to pain increases, and one response to pain becomes extreme (Yi & Pryzbylkowski, 2015). It occurs due to chemical changes in pain nerve pathways or nerve damage. It is mainly caused by inflammation or tissue injury due to the uptake of some drugs like opioids. Naloxone is an opioid antagonist drug used to reverse opioid overdose temporarily. It blocks the opioid drugs from attaching to the brain’s opioid receptors.
References
Sneddon, L. U. (2017). Comparative physiology of nociception and pain. Physiology.
Sullivan, M. D. (2017). Old and new. The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Pain, 165.
Yi, P., & Pryzbylkowski, P. (2015). Opioid-induced hyperalgesia. Pain Medicine, 16(suppl_1), S32-S36.
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Question 
Week 4 Discussion-Opioid Dependency
Discussion Prompt
Part 1: Choose a condition from the following case studies: Opioid Dependency, Parkinson’s Disease, Migraines, Huntington’s Disease (Week 4 Case Study Details). You may work in small groups up to 3 students if desired.
Initial Post of Case Study:
Week 4 Discussion-Opioid Dependency
- Due: Saturday, 11:59 pm PT
- Length: A minimum of 250 words, not including references
- Citations: At least one high-level scholarly reference in APA from within the last 5 years