Hi:
I have a medical sci-fi question.
Let’s say I’m a 27-year-old man who is completely healthy,
physically-invincible, and totally-immortal.
All the A-delta fiber nociceptors supplying the peripheral somatic
tactile *afferent* nerves in my body are stimulated by a magical
source. They are all stimulated at the same time. The intensity to
which they are stimulated [measured by their firing
rate
or frequency] are all in sync with each other. This intensity of
stimulation starts of to small-enough extent that the effects are
not noticeable. In a smooth, sine-wave-like manner this intensity
gradually increases such that it reaches the maximum possible in 30
minutes. After this, the intensity decreases in the same sine-wave
like manner and eventually reaches zero after another 30 minutes
passes.
What symptoms would I experience when the above stimulation is at
maximum intensity?
Here is my guess as to what symptoms I’d experience:
1. The release of pain-relieving endorphins -- due to neurological
simulation of severe injuries. Extreme injuries tends to be
painless due to this mechanism and in this case, the neuroendocrine
systems in my body would be tricked into believing a serious
physical attack has occurred.
2. Impaired ability access memories of this experience because due
to extreme emotions resulting from it. The stimulation of
aforementioned A-delta fiber nociceptors would cause extreme
psychological trauma. Emotionally-tagged memories are difficult to
access later on in life because the brain represses them.
3. Hallucinations, psychedelic states, dissociation, delirium,
out-of-body experiences, near-death experiences and other mental
disturbances -- due to other chemicals released as a result of the
excitation of the said A-delta fiber nociceptors.
Other facts:
The more intense a stimulus, the higher the firing rate of the
neurons in a sensory receptor.
It’s important to note that sensory receptors in *efferent* nerves
of any kind are NOT directly stimulated to any extent.
Tactile = Pertaining only to sense of touch [including temperature,
pressure, pain, tickle, vibrations, movement, position, location
etc.]. *Not* including any visual, auditory, gustatory, olfactory
perceptions or any sensations associated with the sense of
balance.
Peripheral = pertaining only to the peripheral nervous system and
not the central nervous system.
Somatic = pertaining only to the somatic nervous system and not the
visceral, autonomic, or enteric nervous systems
http://courses.washington.edu/conj/sensory/pain.htm
Quotes from the above site:
"An A-delta fiber responds to either mechanical stimuli or
temperature stimuli in the painful realm and produces the acute
sensation of sharp, bright pain."
"By contrast, a C fiber can respond to a broad range of painful
stimuli, including mechanical, thermal or metabolic factors. The
pain produced is slow, burning, and long lasting."
Note that in the the hypothetical situation I described,
C-fibers remain UNstimulated. Only the *A-delta-fiber* nociceptors
are excited.
Thanks,
Green Xenon