Feeling Pain: A Communication Between the Brain and Body
January 17th, 2012
There are pain sensing nerves spread all over the human body; they are located on the skin, deep inside muscles, and on joints. When these nerves receive a big enough input, they open up and allow a wave of positively-charged ions into the nerve, which transmits the pain message to the spinal cord and brain.
The pain sensors can be activated through a number of different causes, from a fire hitting someone’s finger, to a dangerous chemical being splashed on a hand or leg, to hot coffee being spilled. Any of these can result in pain from mechanical, chemical, or temperature changes that affect the pain sensors.
The brain, combined with the spinal cord, analyzes the messages received from the pain receptors and decides whether or not there is a danger. If danger is sensed, then pain is the result, but if the inputs are not enough to cause pain, the brain does not transmit the message to moveprotect} the body part.