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
Hi Green Xenon,
I noticed you've made this same post on half a dozen forums on the internet, but haven't gained much of an answer. Due to the rather specialized, medical nature of your sci-fi question, I would suggest making this post on medical student forums, instead of general academic forums. You'll probably get more of an answer from there.
Google "medical student forum"
http://www.google.com.sg/#q=medical+student+forum