sync news modal Edgar test cc test ยง Show Transcript in 1971 he and Waterman suddenly collapsed from a severe the case of what seems to be gastric flu his illness passed after a few day but a stranger set of symptoms lingered although his muscles and Joints remained healthy Waterman was unable to move in fact he was unable to feel anything from the neck eventually he was diagnosed with a rare and extreme form of Biafra Nation Under logical condition in which certain signals from the nervous system are interrupted or without his body's constant feedback on how his limbs were moving Waterman was unable to sit up stand or walk but over time he taught himself to use the site judge the distance of his limbs from other objects and eventually he regained complete control of his body so long as he could see it with Austin don't think of touch as being a vital part of movement but touch is just one part of the somatosensory system a network that oversees all the sensations are rising from the surface and interior of our touch pain temperature and our awareness of our bodies in space also known as proprioception are regulated by this system and when something goes wrong the effects can be dramatic all these Sensations are processed by millions of tiny receptor cells embedded in our skin muscles tendons and organ every Square centimeter of our skin is packed 100 the beat cell and their shape size and depth determine what kind of stimuli they respond to mechanoreceptors sense mechanical defamation of the skin this could be triggered by low or high frequency vibration but stretch or simply light static pressure thermoreceptors respond to temperature changes while nociceptors sense pain and real sector is it deep in your muscles and tendons continually detecting and relaying information about the position of your body your brain then combines this information with other sensory data to move through space without needing to see your limbs all of these receptors work by sending electrical signals to the brain through fibers that are attached to in the speed of those signal varies fibers thickness for example some nociceptors are attached. Fibers with slightly more conductive fatty myelin than others so when you get her the electrical impulses from the thicker noses trigger sharp intense pain while spin unmyelinated nociceptors are responsible for the dull aching pain that follows and since the fibers carry and tactile information are much thicker than those carry nociceptors signal rubbing an injury can produce temporary relief from the pain these receptors generate a constant flood of signals that travel through the nervous system to the brain but if this price that is disrupted either by damage to the skin the nerves or the brain the network breaks down and since it underpins so many bodily functions damage to the somatosensory system can me best in a wide variety of ways in Waterbury case an autoimmune reaction attacked a large swath of his nervous system leaving him with no tactile or proprioceptive Sensation from the neck. but the Afrin Tisha is just one of many somatosensory disorder individuals can receive damage to a specific brain area or a section of skin resulting in the loss of certain sense patient in particular locations and the impact of this loss can be significant losing tactile sensation makes it difficult to gauge how much strength to use in a situation without the warning signals provided by thermal and pain stimuli we don't react when our bodies are damaged and being deprived of social touch can cause a condition known as touch starvation characterized by anxiety depression high blood pressure and even a weakened immune system many individuals who face these realities have found innovative ways to adapt but it's that all these invisible sensation play a vital role in how we navigate the world even if they can be difficult to put your finger on how often do you use smell to nav the world if you want to learn to master this powerful sense will show you how with this video or you can deepen your understanding of Touch by exploring the science of skin with this video Published March 6, 2023 Print