• Touch:
Our sense of touch is mainly governed by a huge network of free-nerve endings and touch receptors located near or at the surface of the skin. These receptors combined with the free-nerve endings in the skin are known as the somatosensory system. They are activated by a stimulus, which in turn makes the neural membrane more permeable to sodium ions, thus allowing an action potential to occur (given that the charge exceeds the threshold). The impulse may or may not travel to the brain depending on what type of reaction it is (reflex or not).It is at the brain where the impulse is converted into a sensation.
• Pain:
The pain pathway starts with a pain receptor or a nociceptor in the skin being activated by skin damage. The pain receptor
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Thermoreceptors, like nociceptors, are part of the somatosensory system, which consequently means that the electrochemical signals from thermoreceptors are also processed in the same way. Impulses from both receptors meet at the grey matter of the dorsal horn, travel to the brain via a neural pathway, go to their respective sections in the brain, come back down, and depending on the situation, pass through an efferent pathway to an …show more content…
Together, the systems keep the body informed about the outside world through the sense organs and manage our reactions regarding the external stimuli. The three systems also regulate internal activities such as breathing, beating of the heart, and absorption of water in blood by the kidneys. Through the hippocampus, the part of the brain that links the nervous system and endocrine system, input from the sensory system is converted into actions. In other words, the systems make our bodies work together in proper coordination, as one single integrated
Anne Louise Oaklander then proceeds to discuss touch. She explains that senses have evolved specialized organs to process senses that were already discussed in this forum. Touch however, as Oaklander explains, can be perceived all throughout the body- something she likes to refer to as “somatosensation.” Oaklander defines somatosensation as: “A product of a number of different kind of sensory processes all chiming in to give you a perception.” All these sensory processes are somehow connected with processes in the brain.
All organ system work together; in order to keep and support the conditions that the cells, tissues, and organs need to function properly. Each organ system has an important function in the body. There is one system that is not as well known as other; it is the integumentary system. Most people know the organs of the integumentary system, but they do not know that these organs work together to form this system.
What exactly is pain? According to Webster's dictionary, pain is "physical suffering typically from injury or illness; a distressing sensation in a part of the body; severe mental or emotional distress". Most everyone reading this paper has experienced some form of physical pain at some point during their lives; most everyone has even experienced the common daily pains such as stubbing our toe as we walk through the living room, accidentally biting our tongue as we chew, and having the afternoon headache after a long day of work. No matter the fact that it is unpleasant, pain has a very important role in telling the body that something is not right and leading to behavior that will remove the body from a source of potential injury. Imagine if we could not experience pain. We would not be able to change our behavior in any way when touching the burning hot dish in the oven, resulting in potentially serious burns. We could not recognize that perhaps we twisted an ankle when walking down the stairs, thus continued walking on that foot would exacerbate the injury to the point of not being able to walk at all. Indeed, pain is not pleasant, but in many cases it is an important way for our nervous system to learn from and react to the environment.
The most common and well described pain transmission is “gate control theory of pain”. This theory was first proposed by Melzack and Wall in 1965 whereby they used the analogy of gate to explain the inhibition of pain which exists within the dorsal horn of the spinal cord. For instance, when tissue damage occurs, substances such as prostaglandin, serotonin, histamine and bradykinin are released from the injured cell. Individual usually consume or apply pain medications such as NSAIDs whereby these medications will cause electrical nerve impulse at the end of the sensory nerve fiber via nociceptor. Nociceptor is a pain receptor that is commonly found in the skin, cornea of eye and organ of motion such as muscles and ligaments. These nerve impulses
Physicalism is the position that nothing can exceed past what is physically present, and what is physical is all that there can be. This idea is reductive in that it suggests there is no more to the universe than physical matters, including brain processes, sensations, and human consciousness. J.J.C. Smart explains sensations as a means of commentary on a brain process. He believes that, essentially, brain processes and what we report as sensations are essentially the same thing in that one is an account of the other. He writes in “Sensations and Brain Processes” that “…in so far as a sensation statement is a report of something, that something is in fact a brain process. Sensations are nothing over and above brain processes,” (145). Though
Let’s say that there is a mechanical sense. If someone touched your hand, your somatosensory system will detect various stimuli by your skin’s sensory receptors. The sensory information is then conveyed to the central nervous system by afferent neurons. The neuron’s dendrites will pass that information to the cell body, and on to its axon. From there it is passed onto the spinal cord or the brainstem. The neuron's ascending axons will cross to the opposite side either in the spinal cord or in the brainstem. The axons then terminates in the thalamus, and on into the Brodmann Area of the parietal lobe of the brain to process.
Feeling is a basic innate response to outside stimuli. It allows for any organism or human to respond to a potentially dangerous situation. Basic responses such as shivering and sweating help keep the body at its optimal temperature so that basic cellular functions can progress properly. Normally nerves transmit signals between the brain and the body to allow for communication and sensory of the outside world as well as internal ques. A vast wiring of peripheral and autonomic nerves, along with the spinal cord and brain, communicate in split second reactions. These split second reactions that control heart rate, fight/flight, body temperature, as well as other reactions we take for granted A network of highly sensitive nerve endings has evolved throughout the body so that we can sense danger and respond in a timely manner. Very basic functions such as irritation to the eye and discomfort to the joints can easily be noticed and fixed because of nerves. For a very small percentage of the population though this is not the case. Congenital Insensitivity to Pain with Anhidrosis (CIPA) is a rare disease that causes the infected to have no reaction to pain and in most cases, lose sense of smell as well.
A bunch of nerves put together is called the Nervous system. The Nervous system helps with body coordination and provides sensory information about external problems. The nervous system controls the brain, spinal cord, sense organs, etc. Without our nervous system, we would not be able to function, since
It is the idea that the mind and body are not separate entities. Rather, they are intricately connected, interacting with each other in many ways. The body's three main regulatory systems are the central nervous system (which includes the brain), the endocrine system (which produces hormones), and the immune system. These three systems work together and affect one another. Researchers who study the mind-body connection examine these interactions, and are particularly interested in the effects of emotions and thoughts on physical health.
When a message comes to the brain from body parts such as the hand, the brain dictates the body on how to respond such as instructing muscles in the hand to pull away from a hot stove. The nerves in one’s skin send a message of pain to the brain. In response, the brain sends a message back dictating the muscles in one’s hand to pull away from the source of pain. Sensory neurons are nerve cells that carry signals from outside of the body to the central nervous system. Neurons form nerve fibers that transmit impulses throughout the body. Neurons consists of three basic parts: the cell body, axon, and dendrites. The axon carries the nerve impulse along the cell. Sensory and motor neurons are insulated by a layer of myelin sheath, the myelin helps
Meissner corpuscle receptors are activated. Meissner corpuscle receptors pickup fine touch and vibrations. Spinal nerves of first order neuron conducts impulses from receptors of big toe to the fibular nerve, upwards towards the femoral nerve which is part of the lumbar plexuses and located around L2-L4. Axons of the first-order neurons reach the central nervous system within the dorsal roots of spinal nerves and sensory roots of cranial nerves. The axon carrying sensory information from the lower part of the body ascend within the fasciculus gracilis tract and synapse in the nucleus gracilis of medulla oblongata. Axon of the second order neuron cross over to the opposite side of brain steam; this crossing over is called decussation.
The nose can smell thanks to the ten million scent receptors that make up the Olfactory Epithelium(smell device). The Olfactory Epithelium is located about 7 cm up inside the nose.These receptors can differentiate from over 10,000 different smells. The receptors send signals to the Olfactory Bulb. Those signals then travel to the brain which interprets what you are smelling by combining the different signals of the receptors. Many parts of the brain are affected by these signals.
The brain and spinal cord make up the central nervous system. The brain doesn't just control your organs, but also can think and remember. That part of the brain is called the mind.
The nervous system’s main function is to coordinate all of the activities in the body. The main organs are the cerebellum, which controls and coordinates movement. The cerebrum, is the center for conscious thought, learning, and memory. The last main organ is the brain stem. The brain stem keeps the automatic systems in your body working. Problems of the nervous system include, epilepsy, Alzheimer’s, and multiple sclerosis. You can care for your nervous system by wearing a seatbelt, wearing a helmet, and by not using drugs or alcohol. Something very confusing about the nervous system is that the left side of human brain controls the right side of the body and the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body!
The nervous system is composed of all nerve tissue in the body. This organ system forms a communication and coordination network between all parts of the body. It plays a major role in everyday activities such as breathing, walking even blinking. It is made up of nerve tissues to receive and transmit stimuli to nervous centers and initiate response. Neurons are nerve cells that transmit signals from one location of the body to another. With damage to the nervous system the body would not be able to function properly. The body has to be well taken care of in order to insure proper regulation. The two anatomical divisions that work hand in hand to help regulate the nervous system are the central and peripheral nervous system. According to the Campbell’s seventh edition biology book the nervous system is the most intricately organized data processing system on earth. It is a complex collection of nerves and specialized cells.