Chronic abdominal pain is the most distressing symptom in patients with functionnal digestive disorders (FDD). IBS is the most common gastrointestinal disorder seen in primary care and gastroenterology practice. IBS is a functional bowel disorder in which abdominal pain is associated with defaecation or a change in bowel habit, with features of disordered defecation and with distension. The underlying pathophysiology of IBS is unknown but a chronic visceral hyperalgesia, in the absence of detectable organic disease, is implicated. The exact location of abnormality of visceral pain processing is not known. Theories of its etiology have range widely from the original view that the disease represents a primary disturbance of gut mucosa to emerging conception of the syndrome as emanating from a complex disordered interaction between the digestive and nervous systems. Several lines of evidence suggest a strong modulatory or etiologic role of the central nervous system in the pathophysiology of IBS. A major advance in the understanding of the central mechanisms of pain processing has evolved from application of functional imaging techniques, as represented by positron emission tomography (PET) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). In humans, multiple components are involved in somato-visceral pain processings, including sensory-discriminative components, affective components, and cognitive components. Silverman et al, using PET, were the first to explore neural correlates of abdominal pain induced by rectal distension. If healthy subjects activated the ACC, the IBS patients did not while they presented an activation of the left PFC. These findings were consistent with an IBS model that includes both the exaggerated activation of a vigilance network (dorsolateral PFC) and a failure in pain inhibition network anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). In contrast, Mertz et al., using fMRI, observed that pain led to a greater activation of the ACC than did non-painful stimuli thus arguing for an up-regulation of afferent sensitivity to pain. Using fMRI, we also characterized cerebral loci activated by a rectal distension in healthy volunteers. The activation patterns presented a strong similarity with the central processing of somatic pain. In contrast, in a women predominant population of IBS patients, we did not observed any neuronal activation in locations activated in healthy volunteers (ACC, dorsolateral PFC) while a significant deactivation was observed in the IC and in the amygdala, a limbic structure with a role to assign emotional significance to a current experience related to anxiety and fear. Brain imaging techniques thus appear as useful tools to characterize normal and abnormal brain processing of visceral pain in patients with FDD. Reversal effects of chemical compounds targeting these abnormalities either at a peripheral or a central level should be of interest.
Celem niniejszej pracy jest umieszczenie zjawiska toalety publicznej w dwóch kontekstach: 1. historyczno-kulturowym, związanym z analizowanym przez Norberta Eliasa przesuwaniem się progu wstydu, cywilizacyjnymi przemianami o charakterze psycho i socjogennym; 2. socjologiczno-ekonomicznym, dotyczącym dostępności toalet publicznych, mającej wpływ na regulowanie tego kto, gdzie i kiedy może z nich korzystać. W częoeci pierwszej do analizy wybranych zagadnień zostały wykorzystane m. in. koncepcje psychoanalityczne i antropologiczne, w szczególnooeci jednak teoria czystości i brudu Mary Douglas. Częość druga została pooewięcona rozważaniom na temat sytuacji konkretnych grup społecznych, tj. bezdomnych, ulicznych handlarzy i handlarek, taksówkarzy i taksówkarek, dla których kwestie dostępności toalet publicznych uważa autorka za wyjątkowo istotne, bowiem mające wpływ zarówno na poziom ich dobrobytu, jak i dobrostanu psychicznego.
EN
The aim of the paper is to place the phenomenon of public restroom in two contexts: 1. historical and cultural, which is related to the effect of rising “threshold of shame”, as analysed by Norbert Elias, as well as to the civilizational changes that influence society and individual; 2. socio-economical, regarding the accessibility of public toilets, which in turn has an impact on who, when and where can use them. In its first part, the work utilizes tools derived from psychoanalysis and anthropology, especially Mary Douglas’ theory of dirt and cleanliness. Part two is dedicated to the consideration of situations of different social groups, i.e. homeless people, street traders, taxi drivers, for whom, in author’s opinion, the matters of accessibility of public restrooms are especially important, having effect on their levels of prosperity and wellbeing.