英语每日一听 | 每天少于5分钟

第1878期:What would happen if you lost your sense of touch?


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In 1971, Ian Waterman suddenly collapsed from a severe case of what seemed to be gastric flu. His illness passed after a few days, 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 down. Eventually, he was diagnosed with a rare and extreme form of deafferentation, a neurological condition in which certain signals from the nervous system are interrupted or impaired. 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 sight to 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.

1971 年,伊恩·沃特曼 (Ian Waterman) 因严重的疑似胃流感而突然倒下。几天后他的病就过去了,但一系列奇怪的症状仍然存在。尽管他的肌肉和关节保持健康,但沃特曼无法动弹。事实上,他从脖子以下感觉不到任何东西。最终,他被诊断出患有一种罕见的极端形式的传入神经阻滞症,这是一种神经系统疾病,其中来自神经系统的某些信号被中断或受损。没有身体对四肢运动方式的持续反馈,沃特曼无法坐起、站立或行走。但随着时间的推移,他学会了用视觉来判断他的四肢与其他物体的距离。最终他重新完全控制了自己的身体——只要他能看到它。


We often 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 arising from the surface and interior of our bodies. 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 organs. Every square centimeter of our skin is packed with hundreds of these cells, and their shape, size, and depth determine what kind of stimuli they respond to.

我们通常不认为触觉是运动的重要组成部分。但触觉只是体感系统的一部分,体感系统是一个网络,负责监督从我们身体的表面和内部产生的所有感觉。触觉、疼痛、温度以及我们对空间中身体的意识——也称为本体感受——都受该系统调节。当出现问题时,影响可能是巨大的。所有这些感觉都由嵌入我们皮肤、肌肉、肌腱和器官中的数百万个微小受体细胞处理。我们皮肤的每一平方厘米都挤满了数百个这样的细胞,它们的形状、大小和深度决定了它们对什么样的刺激做出反应。


Mechanoreceptors sense mechanical deformation of the skin. This could be triggered by low or high frequency vibrations, a stretch, or simply light, static pressure. Thermoreceptors respond to temperature changes, while nociceptors sense pain. And propriocepters sit 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 they’re attached to. And the speed of those signals varies with the fiber’s thickness. For example, some nociceptors are attached to fibers with slightly more conductive, fatty myelin than others. So when you get hurt, the electrical impulses from thicker nociceptors trigger sharp, intense pain, while thin, unmyelinated nociceptors are responsible for the dull, aching pain that follows. And since the fibers carrying tactile information are much thicker than those carrying nociceptive signals, rubbing an injury can produce temporary relief from the pain

机械感受器感知皮肤的机械变形。这可能由低频或高频振动、拉伸或简单的轻微静压触发。温度感受器对温度变化作出反应,而伤害感受器则感知疼痛。本体感受器位于您的肌肉和肌腱深处,不断检测和传递有关您身体位置的信息。然后你的大脑将这些信息与其他感官数据结合起来,在空间中移动而无需看到你的四肢。所有这些受体都通过它们所附着的纤维向大脑发送电信号来工作。这些信号的速度随纤维的厚度而变化。例如,一些伤害感受器附着在比其他感受器导电性更强的脂肪髓鞘纤维上。因此,当你受伤时,较厚的伤害感受器发出的电脉冲会引发剧烈、剧烈的疼痛,而较薄、无髓鞘的伤害感受器会导致随之而来的隐隐作痛。由于携带触觉信息的纤维比携带伤害性信号的纤维粗得多,因此摩擦伤口可以暂时缓解疼痛


These receptors generate a constant flood of signals that travel through the nervous system to the brain. But if this process 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 manifest in a wide variety of ways.In Waterman’s case, an autoimmune reaction attacked a large swath of his nervous system, leaving him with no tactile or proprioceptive sensations from the neck down. But deafferentation is just one of many somatosensory disorders. Individuals can receive damage to a specific brain area or a section of skin, resulting in the loss of certain sensations in particular locations. And the impact of this loss can be significant. Losing tactile sensations 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.

这些受体产生源源不断的信号,通过神经系统传输到大脑。但如果这个过程被破坏——无论是由于皮肤、神经或大脑受损——网络就会崩溃。由于它支撑着如此多的身体机能,因此对体感系统的损害可以通过多种方式表现出来。在沃特曼的案例中,自身免疫反应攻击了他的大部分神经系统,使他的颈部失去了触觉或本体感受向下。但传入神经阻滞只是众多体感障碍中的一种。个人可能会受到特定大脑区域或皮肤部分的伤害,导致特定位置的某些感觉丧失。这种损失的影响可能很大。失去触觉会让人很难判断在某种情况下该用多大的力。如果没有热刺激和疼痛刺激提供的警告信号,我们在身体受损时不会做出反应。而且,被剥夺社交接触会导致一种称为接触饥饿的状况,其特征是焦虑、抑郁、高血压,甚至免疫系统减弱。


Many individuals who face these realities have found innovative ways to adapt. But it’s undeniable that all these invisible sensations play a vital role in how we navigate the world— even if they can be difficult to put your finger on.

许多面对这些现实的人都找到了创新的适应方法。但不可否认的是,所有这些无形的感觉在我们驾驭世界的方式中起着至关重要的作用——即使它们很难用手指触及。



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