How do we know what we are touching?

Our Brain is know to do many things one of which is to tell us what we are feeling. Sometimes this is emotional and other times it is physical like us touching an object or feeling pain. The way the Brain perceives physical feelings is very interesting, because the brain works with the different receptors on our bodies. Our Sense of Touch is very important to our everyday lives.

To understand touch we first need to learn how the brain gets the signal for what we are feeling. This comes in the form of the touch receptors in our skin. The signal travels up through sensory nerves to our brain. Sensory nerves are made up of fiber that are what connect the neurons to the spinal cord. The signals move up to the Thalamus, which is a part of the brain which is located right around the center of the brain. The Thalamus relays the information given by the sensory nerves to the rest of the brain.

Next we need to know what the brain even does with the information. The perception of touch revolves around the somatosensory cortex. This is where signals are translated into touch or feelings. All the information received turns into a topographic map. Sensitive areas like lips and fingers form a larger part of the map compared to lower sensitive areas like your back. The sensitivity of an area is based on the number of receptors per unit.

Pain is also a key part of touch, but why do we even feel pain. Pain is the way of the brain telling us that something is wrong with the body. Pain signals tissue damage or potential for damage. The things that cause this are special neurons called Nociceptors. These neurons are tuned to sense stimuli that is correspond with tissue damage and react to strong stimuli.

The Brain works in many ways to keep us informed with sight, noise, smells, taste, and touch. This is key to our everyday lives. Our sense of touch is very important and with it comes recognition and awareness.

Works Cited

Blumenrath, S. (n.d.). The neuroscience of touch and pain. BrainFacts.org. https://www.brainfacts.org/thinking-sensing-and-behaving/touch/2020/the-neuroscience-of-touch-and-pain-013020.