*6.1.2 Chemical nociception*

Chemical nociception refers to a nociceptive neuron that expresses receptors capable of detecting noxious, irritating or harmful chemicals [56, 57].

Chemociception, the detection of tissue-damaging chemicals, is important in protecting organisms from tissue damage. The ability of sensory neurons to detect potentially harmful chemicals is based on the activation of pain receptors in various animals with irritating chemical compounds. The ability of nociceptors to detect a variety of seemingly unrelated chemicals was mysterious until it was discovered that the nociceptor-specific TRPA1 ion channel (the transient receptor potential cation channel (TRP) family of receptors) could be activated by many of these chemicals [51, 56, 57].
