Touching
Touching
Touching (/ˈtʌtʃɪŋ/), from the Old French touchier, is the act of coming into physical contact with another object or person. It is one of the five primary senses, known as tactile sensation or simply touch.
Definition
Touching involves the perception of pressure, temperature, and pain through the skin, primarily via the somatosensory system. This system is a complex sensory system that is responsible for detecting and interpreting information about touch from the environment.
Physiology
The sense of touch is mediated by specialized nerve endings in the skin known as mechanoreceptors. These receptors respond to different types of tactile stimuli, such as pressure, vibration, and stretch. The information from these receptors is then transmitted to the brain via the spinal cord.
There are four main types of mechanoreceptors in the human skin: Merkel cells, Meissner's corpuscles, Ruffini endings, and Pacinian corpuscles. Each of these has a different sensitivity and response profile, allowing us to perceive a wide range of tactile sensations.
Clinical Significance
Touching is essential for many aspects of human behavior, including social interaction, exploration of the environment, and manipulation of objects. Impairments in the sense of touch can have significant consequences, ranging from difficulties in performing everyday tasks to serious health conditions.
For example, loss of touch sensation (known as tactile agnosia) can occur as a result of damage to the somatosensory cortex in the brain. This can lead to difficulties in recognizing objects by touch, even though the ability to perceive pressure, temperature, and pain may be intact.
On the other hand, hypersensitivity to touch (known as tactile hypersensitivity) can be a symptom of certain neurological disorders, such as fibromyalgia and autism spectrum disorder.
Related Terms
- Tactile sensation: The perception of pressure, temperature, and pain through the skin.
- Somatosensory system: The sensory system responsible for detecting and interpreting information about touch.
- Mechanoreceptors: Specialized nerve endings in the skin that respond to tactile stimuli.
- Tactile agnosia: Loss of the ability to recognize objects by touch.
- Tactile hypersensitivity: Increased sensitivity to touch, often associated with certain neurological disorders.
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Touching
- Wikipedia's article - Touching
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