Touch+and+Pain,+P.1-+Jess+Murphy,+Devon,+Stephen,+Kate

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**Stephen**: Touch is the stimulation of receptor cells on the surface of the skin. When an object puts pressure on your skin it registers on the nerves which sends a single to your brain. The nerves are located in the dermis level of the skin, which is the second layer of skin. Certain types of receptors adapt to touch quickly, while others register constant touch. An example of this is how you can’t really feel your clothes because the receptors are active so often that you become used to the sensation and feel them less. On the other hand, hands have many more touch receptors than other less-active parts of your body. in fact there are about 3000 touch receptors in each of your finger tips. Also they are not receiving constant stimulation like the receptors where your clothes are so they are more sensitive to stimulation. Parts of the body like the elbow register virtually no stimulation because there are almost no receptors in that area. if you want to test this try lightly touching some one’s elbow when they aren’t paying attention, chances are they won’t even feel it. The body registers touch based on pressure. the smallest amount of pressure that can still register stimulation to the brain is called the Absolute Threshold. The Absolute Threshold for touch is a bee wing falling on your cheek. this means that anything smaller or lighter than that wont even register.

**Jess**: Pain is the physical or mental suffering caused by injury or disease. Sensations of pain can be experienced as pricking, burning, aching, stinging, or soreness. These sensations can be caused by external forces such as drugs, surgery, hypnosis, fear, joy, stress, social ritual, status, sex , social interaction, and culture. Pain is normally due to tissue injury which can be caused by heat, cold, pressure, stretching, cutting, and piercing. Less common is pain when no tissue damage occurs such as touching the eardrum or eyeball.

**Kate**: When the body experiences tissue damage, free nerve endings are triggered, which sends a signal to the spinal cord and then to the brain. There are more pain receptors than any other type, and many are found in the hands, fingers and lips (the middle of the back is the least sensitive part of the body). Sometimes, like when you touch a hot stove, the spinal cord causes the body to move before the brain even registers the pain. Pain receptors adapt very slowly, so the body remains aware of pain over a fairly long period of time. This is actually an important function, as people need to be aware of and remove themselves from situations where tissue damage is causing pain. If pain receptors adapted more quickly, people might suffer more tissue damage. As an extreme example, some people are born without pain receptors, and often injure themselves because they are less cautious about things that could cause pain.

**Devon**: The Gate Control Theory of Pain is the idea that if you can control the amount of sensation in the area where the pain is concentrated, then you can ultimately can control the amount of pain you feel. The neural pathways can only register a certain amount of pain, therefore if you flood the pathways to the brain with sensation you can drown out the pain sensation. The four sensations of touch: hot, cold, pain, and pressure are the sensations used to flood the pathways. For example, if you bump your knee and then apply pressure to that area, the neural pathways become flooded and diminish the amount of pain that reaches the brain.

Sources: 1. Magill’s Encyclopedia: “Touch and pressure.” Psychology. Ed. Nancy A. Piotrowski. 4 vols. Pasadena: Salem Press, 2003. 1641-45. Print. Magill’s Encyclopedia of Social Science.

2. Berg, David. "Introduction to Central Pain 'The Pain beyond Pain.'" Pain Online . N.p., 2001. Web. 2 Dec. 2011.  intro.htm>.

3. "GAte control theory of pain ." Science Daily. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Dec. 2011.  .

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">4. Oley, Nancy, and Robert D Johnson. "Pain." Psychology and Mental Health. Vol. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> 3. Pasadena: Salem Press, 2010. 1335-1342. Print. 5 vols.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">5. "Fun Facts- Our Five Sense." Articlesbase. N.p., 1 Aug. 2009. Web. 2 Dec. 2011. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> <http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> fun-facts-our-five-senses-1089109.html>.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">6. "Your Sense of Touch." ThinkQuest. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Dec. 2011. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> <http://library.thinkquest.org/3750/touch/touch.html>.

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