The Brainstem
Sensation comes first, as it refers to the raw data that your sensory receptors transmit to your brain. Perception, on the other hand, involves the organization and interpretation of those sensations to create meaningful experiences.
The hand detects temperature through nerve endings called thermoreceptors. These receptors send signals to the brain when they come into contact with hot or cold objects, allowing us to perceive the difference in temperatures. Our brain then processes this information and gives us the sensation of feeling hot or cold.
The right hemisphere of the brain would register a touch on the left hand because of the way the brain is wired - the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body and vice versa. So, when the left hand is touched, the signal is processed by the right hemisphere of the brain.
Dr. Remaindering suggests that the brain is flexible and adaptive, so when Derrick's face is touched, the brain might misinterpret the sensation as coming from his missing left hand due to neural plasticity. This phenomenon is known as referred phantom sensation.
No, I have never experienced the sensation of flying with a flower in my hand.
Nerve endings in the hand detect sensations like pressure, temperature, and texture. They send signals to the brain, allowing us to feel and interpret touch.
The energy transferred in this scenario is thermal energy, which moves from the hot pan to your hand, resulting in a sensation of heat.
Sensation and Perception
Energy travels from your hand to the surface, because even the slightest touch transfers energy. Cold doesn't transfer from the surface to your hand, your nerves just tell your brain that the surface is cold.
A neuron fiber that sends a signal from your hand to your brain is called an afferent or sensory neuron. These neurons transmit sensory information, such as touch or pain, from peripheral receptors in the hand to the central nervous system for processing. This communication allows the brain to interpret and respond to stimuli.
Botvinick and Cohen propose that the rubber hand illusion occurs due to a mismatch between sensory inputs and the brain's body representation. When visual and tactile stimuli are synchronized, the brain integrates the rubber hand into its body schema, leading to the sensation that the rubber hand is part of one's own body. This phenomenon highlights the brain's reliance on multisensory information to construct our perception of body ownership.
Some people enjoy the sensation of cats licking their hand, while others may not. It can be a personal preference.