Painetransmittereitä

Painetransmittereitä is a neologism used in Finnish-language discussions of pain biology to denote the chemical messengers that transmit nociceptive information from peripheral sensory neurons to the central nervous system. The term does not designate a single molecule but a broad class of mediators involved in pain signaling, both at peripheral terminals and at synapses in the spinal cord and brain.

In the peripheral nervous system, nociceptors release various transmitters upon noxious stimulation. These include neuropeptides such as substance P and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), as well as classical neurotransmitters like glutamate and ATP. In the spinal cord, these mediators activate second-order neurons and engage receptors that propagate the pain signal toward higher brain centers. The term painetransmittereitä thus encompasses multiple substances that can mediate, modulate, or amplify pain perception.

Clinical relevance: Excess or dysregulated production of pain transmitters is implicated in chronic pain conditions. Therapies targeting specific mediators or their receptors, such as CGRP antagonists for migraine or NK1 receptor antagonists for substance P, illustrate attempts to dampen pain transmission.

Note: Painetransmittereitä is a descriptive, nonstandard term. In formal medical literature, terms such as nociceptive mediators, neurotransmitters involved in nociception, or specific molecule names are preferred.