More details about pain sensitivity

According to the definition by the International Association for the Study of Pain, pain is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience, associated with actual or potential tissue damage. On the other hand, it is not necessary that tissue damage is primary the cause of pain, and that pain always accompanies a certain damage in the tissue.

Perception of pain is the result of agitation of peripheral or visceral nociceptors. These are special pain-nerve endings that can trigger an action potential according to a sufficient stimulus (mechanical or thermal). The impulse is carried through nerves into the central nerve system. Pain differs depending on the stimulated fibres (thinner or thicker) and it can be sharp or blunt. Sharp pain differs from the blunt pain. A sharp pain happens when a person clearly knows where it hurts, while with the blunt pain it is harder to determine the area of the pain.
Perception of pain can vary greatly from one person to the next. It is assumed that the cause for this difference is a polymorphism or SNP in the COMT gene. The enzyme catechol-O-methyltransferase, which is coded by this gene, has numerous biological functions, including the regulation of catecholamine and enkefalin, the amount of which is associated with the experience of pain. The consequence of lowered activity of COMT results in a substantial increase of sensitivity for pain.

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