PAT 201 COMPREHENSIVE EXAM SCRIPT 2026
UPDATED ACTUAL PRACTICE QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS
◉ What is pain transduction? Answer: converting pain stimulus to
electrical signal transmitted to the central nervous system.
◉ What happens in pain transduction? Answer: 1. nociceptors
activates due to physical, chemical, and thermal changes.
2. causing ion channels (sodium, calcium, and potassium) to open on
nociceptors.
3. creating electrical impulses that travels through axons of 2
primary nociceptors where it is transmitted to the spinal cord,
cortex, thalamus, and brainstem.
◉ What is pain transmission? Answer: conduction of pain impulses
along alpha and c fibres into the dorsal horn of the spinal cord.
◉ What happens in pain transmission? Answer: 1. forms synapses
with excitatory and inhibitory interneurons in the substantia
gelatinosa of the dorsal horn.
,2. forms synapses with projecting neurons across the midline of the
spinal cord, where it ascends to the brain through 2 spinothalamic
tracts.
3. carries fast and slow impulses and is connected to reticular
formation, hypothalamus, thalamus, and the limbic system.
4. impulses are then projected to the somatosensory cortex for
interpretation, location, and intensity of pain.
◉ What is pain perception? Answer: conscious awareness of pain.
◉ Where does pain perception occur primarily? Answer: cerebral
cortex, limbic system, and reticular formation.
◉ What is pain perception influenced by? Answer: genes, culture,
sex, age, health, and past pain experiences.
◉ What are the 3 systems that produces pain perception? Answer: 1.
sensory-discriminatory system
2. affective-motivational system
,3. cognitive-evaluative system
◉ What is the sensory-discriminatory system? Answer: determines
the identity, presence, character, location, and intensity of pain;
mediated by the somatosensory cortex.
◉ What is the affective-motivational system? Answer: determines
the individual's avoidance behaviour of pain as well as their
emotional response; mediated by the limbic system, reticular
formation, and the brainstem.
◉ What is the cognitive-evaluative system? Answer: determines the
learned behaviour and past experiences of pain, as well as the
modulation of perception; mediated by the cerebral cortex.
◉ What are Alpha-delta fibres? Answer: large myelinated fibres that
transmits fast and sharp pain that is highly localized such as a pin
prick.
◉ What are Alpha-beta fibres? Answer: large myelinated fibres that
is associated with sensation, vibration, and touch.
◉ What are C-fibres? Answer: short unmyelinated fibres that are the
most abundant in numbers that transmits slow dull pain that is
poorly localized.
, ◉ What is the neospinothalamic pathway? Answer: fast pain
pathway that is highly localized.
◉ What is the paleospinothalamic pathway? Answer: slow dull pain
pathway that is poorly localized; often associated with chronic and
persistent pain.
◉ What are endogenous opioids? Answer: morphine-like
neuropeptides that inhibits transmission of pain impulses, by
binding to specific opioid receptors and neurons.
◉ What are enkephalins? Answer: most prevalent of natural opioids
that binds to opioid receptors.
◉ What are endorphins? Answer: produced in the brain that
provides exhilaration and pain relief.
◉ What are dynorphins? Answer: binds strongly with kappa
receptors to impede pain signals.
◉ What are endomorphins? Answer: binds strongly with mu
receptors and have potent analgesic effects.
UPDATED ACTUAL PRACTICE QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS
◉ What is pain transduction? Answer: converting pain stimulus to
electrical signal transmitted to the central nervous system.
◉ What happens in pain transduction? Answer: 1. nociceptors
activates due to physical, chemical, and thermal changes.
2. causing ion channels (sodium, calcium, and potassium) to open on
nociceptors.
3. creating electrical impulses that travels through axons of 2
primary nociceptors where it is transmitted to the spinal cord,
cortex, thalamus, and brainstem.
◉ What is pain transmission? Answer: conduction of pain impulses
along alpha and c fibres into the dorsal horn of the spinal cord.
◉ What happens in pain transmission? Answer: 1. forms synapses
with excitatory and inhibitory interneurons in the substantia
gelatinosa of the dorsal horn.
,2. forms synapses with projecting neurons across the midline of the
spinal cord, where it ascends to the brain through 2 spinothalamic
tracts.
3. carries fast and slow impulses and is connected to reticular
formation, hypothalamus, thalamus, and the limbic system.
4. impulses are then projected to the somatosensory cortex for
interpretation, location, and intensity of pain.
◉ What is pain perception? Answer: conscious awareness of pain.
◉ Where does pain perception occur primarily? Answer: cerebral
cortex, limbic system, and reticular formation.
◉ What is pain perception influenced by? Answer: genes, culture,
sex, age, health, and past pain experiences.
◉ What are the 3 systems that produces pain perception? Answer: 1.
sensory-discriminatory system
2. affective-motivational system
,3. cognitive-evaluative system
◉ What is the sensory-discriminatory system? Answer: determines
the identity, presence, character, location, and intensity of pain;
mediated by the somatosensory cortex.
◉ What is the affective-motivational system? Answer: determines
the individual's avoidance behaviour of pain as well as their
emotional response; mediated by the limbic system, reticular
formation, and the brainstem.
◉ What is the cognitive-evaluative system? Answer: determines the
learned behaviour and past experiences of pain, as well as the
modulation of perception; mediated by the cerebral cortex.
◉ What are Alpha-delta fibres? Answer: large myelinated fibres that
transmits fast and sharp pain that is highly localized such as a pin
prick.
◉ What are Alpha-beta fibres? Answer: large myelinated fibres that
is associated with sensation, vibration, and touch.
◉ What are C-fibres? Answer: short unmyelinated fibres that are the
most abundant in numbers that transmits slow dull pain that is
poorly localized.
, ◉ What is the neospinothalamic pathway? Answer: fast pain
pathway that is highly localized.
◉ What is the paleospinothalamic pathway? Answer: slow dull pain
pathway that is poorly localized; often associated with chronic and
persistent pain.
◉ What are endogenous opioids? Answer: morphine-like
neuropeptides that inhibits transmission of pain impulses, by
binding to specific opioid receptors and neurons.
◉ What are enkephalins? Answer: most prevalent of natural opioids
that binds to opioid receptors.
◉ What are endorphins? Answer: produced in the brain that
provides exhilaration and pain relief.
◉ What are dynorphins? Answer: binds strongly with kappa
receptors to impede pain signals.
◉ What are endomorphins? Answer: binds strongly with mu
receptors and have potent analgesic effects.
