Anticonvulsants and capsaicin also work in this manner in larger peripheral nerves. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents reduce nerve ending sensitivity to prostaglandin, bradykinin and histamine in addition to prostaglandin synthetase inhibition. This is conduction of the electrical signal from the nerve endings to terminals in the spinal cord which relay afferent signals to the brainstem, thalamus, and the cerebral cortex. Spinal and nerve anesthetics interrupting neural transmission. Norepinephrine and serotonin are present in this pathway and may act to inhibit the pain impulses.
Opiates mediate pain in the spinal cord.
Antidepressant and phenothiazines interfere with pain transmission in the spinal cord. The activity of pain transmission produces a subjective experience. Opiates and to a lesser degree Antidepressants alter the way a person s perception of the signal received by the cerebral cortex.