escola sede: "Take a Minute, Take Five"

No âmbito do projeto "Take a Minute, Take Five", subcategoria "Did you know? Now you know", hoje publicamos curiosidades sobre a forma como o nosso cérebro interpreta a dor, da autoria de Matilde Monteiro, 9ºG. 

Did you know that your brain never actually “feels” pain?

Alamy

Even though the brain processes pain signals from the rest of your body, the brain tissue itself has no pain receptors. That’s why, during certain brain surgeries, patients can be awake and responsive while doctors operate; the brain can detect pressure but not pain.

Pain you experience from headaches doesn’t come from the brain itself. Instead, it comes from surrounding structures like blood vessels, nerves, and muscles in the head and neck. Your brain is essentially the control center that interprets pain everywhere else, but it can’t feel it directly.

What really explains this phenomenon is that brain tissue doesn’t have nociceptors ,the specialized receptors that detect pain. These receptors exist in the skin, muscles, and many other tissues throughout the body, but they are absent in the brain itself. That’s why, even though the brain is the organ that interprets pain, it cannot feel pain directly.

Now you know!

Matilde Monteiro, 9G