Referred pain
-
an example of how the brain perceives sensory information in the context of past experiences
-
REFERRED PAIN occurs when activation of nociceptors in the viscera results in a perception of pain that is localized to the body surface
-
referred pain is presumed to occur because the information from multiple nociceptor afferents converges onto individual spinothalamic tract neurons - the brain therefore interprets the information coming from visceral receptors as having arisen from receptors on the body surface, since this is typically where nociceptive stimuli originate