Word: painful
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Giesler at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, hypothesized that the mechanism by which scratching relieves an itch takes place not along the nerve fibers of itchy skin but deep within the central nervous system - specifically, in the spinothalamic tract (STT) neurons in the spinal cord, which transmit information about pain, temperature and touch to the brain. (Previous studies have shown that STT neurons can be activated with the application of an itch-producing chemical like histamine and that the neurons send that itch sensation to the brain...
...without first creating an artificial itch, the STT neurons fired - the normal STT-neuron response - but scratching did nothing to calm them. That demonstrates that STT nerves react differently to the sensation of a scratch when it happens in response to an existing itch. The researchers then injected a pain-producing chemical into the monkeys' legs, which also spurred the firing of STT neurons. Again scratching did nothing to calm them, suggesting that the nerve-dampening effect of scratching applies uniquely to itching, not pain...
...much like a woodland creature as a result of his time away from human company that Bachmann initially doesn’t even recognize him physically as a human: “[Bachmann] hauled off and poked his stick into the ghost’s side. It writhed with pain and made faces. You’ve hurt my kidney, the critter whimpered.” Though the reader and Bachmann eventually learn that Schnotz was once just as inhuman a soldier as he is now a woodland critter, Schnotz’s Gollum-like wildness emphasizes his pathetic fall...
...collective mood for the day. These most recent developments by SANOSON are exciting for the simple reason that we all know the raw power music has to influence us—whether we be YardFest attendees or restaurant waitresses. But until science offers us an equation for managing pain or stress with music, we will continue to self-medicate, ignorant of the calculus of our hearts but wise to their temperaments.—Ruben L. Davis can be reached at rldavis@fas.harvard.edu...
...Wednesday, the First Lady toured a cancer ward with Sarah Brown, the British Prime Minister's wife, finding peace amid the pain. After a makeup session with two female patients, she had tea. "It's an oasis," she said. "It's a quiet place that makes people feel whole." Hours later, she met with the Queen of England, appearing to breach rigid ancient protocol with the most human gesture, reciprocating Elizabeth II's light touch by gently draping her arm across the back of the Queen. (Read "The Queen and Mrs. Obama: A Breach in Protocol...