Knowra Central sensitization Central sensitization Central sensitization is increased responsiveness of pain-processing neurons in the central nervous system after repeated or intense input. It can amplify pain and responses to normally nonpainful stimulation.
Wind-up : A progressive increase in spinal neuron responses during repeated stimulation of C-fiber nociceptors. Repeated C-fiber input can produce this short-term amplification in spinal pain pathways.
Nociception : The neural encoding and processing of potentially tissue-damaging stimuli. Central sensitization changes nociceptive processing rather than simply increasing incoming stimulus strength.
Fibromyalgia : A chronic condition characterized by widespread pain, fatigue, sleep disturbance, and cognitive symptoms. Altered central pain processing is a prominent proposed contributor to its widespread tenderness.
Peripheral sensitization : Increased responsiveness of nociceptors at or near an injured tissue site. Unlike central sensitization, this mechanism originates in peripheral sensory endings.
Central sensitization inventory : A questionnaire measuring symptoms associated with central sensitivity syndromes. Its score reflects reported symptoms, not a direct measurement of neuronal sensitization.
N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor : A glutamate receptor that contributes to synaptic plasticity and excitatory signaling in the nervous system. Its activation helps strengthen transmission during activity-dependent spinal sensitization.
Nociceptor : A sensory receptor neuron that responds to potentially damaging thermal, mechanical, or chemical stimuli. Nociceptor activity supplies peripheral input that can induce central sensitization.
Complex regional pain syndrome : A chronic pain condition affecting a limb, often involving sensory, autonomic, and motor changes. Central sensitization may contribute to its disproportionate pain and expanded sensory sensitivity.
Neuropathic pain : Pain caused by a lesion or disease of the somatosensory nervous system. Neuropathic pain is defined by a nervous-system lesion or disease, not by central amplification alone.
Conditioned pain modulation : A psychophysical measure of how one painful stimulus alters the response to another. It probes endogenous pain control, which may interact with sensitization but does not identify it uniquely.
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