Summary of Guy Leschziner's The Man Who Tasted Words

Everest Media

Description

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.
Sample Book Insights:
#1 The inability to feel pain is the stuff of superheroes. It is the deepest wish of those who are tortured by it. But Paul’s inability to sense pain is not coupled with super-strength, unbreakable bones, or super-healing.
#2 Our sense of touch is so integral to our existence that it is almost impossible to imagine a life without it. We describe people as warm or cold, soft or hard, based on their physical sensations.
#3 The absence of pain is devastating. It is the loudest of our sensations, and it prevents us from injuring ourselves or making the same mistake twice. It focuses our attention on looking after that part of the body, protecting and immobilizing it so that we can repair and heal before we start using it again.
#4 The brain’s sensory map is grossly distorted, and the area of the brain that is responsible for our body map is also located in the central depths. This area of the brain is involved in the unpleasantness and fear of pain, and is a potent driver of the need to avoid pain.

Sujets

• Cognitive science

Informations

• Publié par: Everest Media LLC
• Date de parution: 25 mars 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781669365785
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Insights on Guy Leschziner's The Man Who Tasted Words
Contents Insights from Chapter 1 Insights from Chapter 2 Insights from Chapter 3 Insights from Chapter 4 Insights from Chapter 5 Insights from Chapter 6 Insights from Chapter 7 Insights from Chapter 8 Insights from Chapter 9
Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The inability to feel pain is the stuff of superheroes. It is the deepest wish of those who are tortured by it. But Paul’s inability to sense pain is not coupled with super-strength, unbreakable bones, or super-healing.

#2

Our sense of touch is so integral to our existence that it is almost impossible to imagine a life without it. We describe people as warm or cold, soft or hard, based on their physical sensations.

#3

The absence of pain is devastating. It is the loudest of our sensations, and it prevents us from injuring ourselves or making the same mistake twice. It focuses our attention on looking after that part of the body, protecting and immobilizing it so that we can repair and heal before we start using it again.

#4

The brain’s sensory map is grossly distorted, and the area of the brain that is responsible for our body map is also located in the central depths. This area of the brain is involved in the unpleasantness and fear of pain, and is a potent driver of the need to avoid pain.

#5

Paul’s condition is extremely rare: he has never experienced any sort of physical pain. He has spent his life seeking reward through damaging his body, and has never felt any sort of discomfort.

#6

The ability to feel emotional pain implies that the central networks controlling this aspect of pain sensation are present in Paul, unaffected by his condition. His problem is more fundamental, simply concerning the perception of physical pain itself.

#7

The conduction of impulses throughout the nervous system is dependent on a piece of molecular machinery called the sodium channel. Sodium channels exist as molecular pores on the outer membrane of nerve cells, and are triggered to open only under certain conditions. When triggered, the sodium channel opens, allowing sodium ions and their associated positive electrical charge to flood into the cell.

#8

The effects of this disorder have been devastating for the entire family. For Christine and Bob, it has been awful beyond comprehension. Amanda, their youngest child, did not survive the absence of pain.

#9

The absence of pain is perhaps just about comprehensible intellectually, but on an emotional level it is totally beyond our understanding. And its rarity means that even most healthcare professionals are unfamiliar with it.

#10

The lack of understanding of Paul and Vicky’s condition has been tempered by the generosity of strangers. Donations have come in from around the world by people captivated and horrified by the stories of children growing up without this most vital sensation.

#11

A life without discomfort, ache, or agony is beyond the comprehension of most people. However, even for a person with an intact neurological system, moments of absence of pain can exist.

#12

Placebo effects are when people experience improvement in pain with a sugar pill, despite the fact that the pill does not contain any medication. This illustrates that the interior has a significant influence on the transmission of data from the outside in.

#13

The nocebo response, too, is influenced by expectations. When people are told that a certain substance will relieve pain, but it actually increases pain, their pain tolerance decreases.

#14

When it comes to pain, the positive or negative expectation of pain influences pain itself. The brain’s anticipation of discomfort directly influences its activity and chemistry. These effects are not just psychological, but also involve the brain’s control over pain signals at the point of their entry into the spinal cord.

#15

We have known for a long time that certain circuitry in the spinal cord influences the perception of pain. The brain also directly influences this gate, opening or closing it depending on expectation, memory, anxiety, and a range of other factors.

#16

There are many sensations that we never even notice, until they are gone. When these sensations are lost, the consequences are life-changing.

#17

I meet Rahel, who is now known as Rachel, in the last few months of her life. She has been diagnosed with lung cancer, a type known as small-cell malignant and malevolent. She has been through chemotherapy and has been offered radiotherapy to the brain and spinal cord, in the hope of killing any invisible cells that might have already sought refuge there.

#18

The act of walking is a complex one, and it takes years of learning and development to become able to do it automatically. We do not simply walk on the first day we are born. Our first steps only happen some twelve months after birth, and our first few years of life are marred by bumps and scrapes as we toddle.

#19

Without sensation, it is difficult to move. We think of such functions of our bodies as entirely separate, but in reality they are intimately linked. If you hold a glass and close your eyes, you can still lift it to your lips and take a drink.

#20

The muscle spindle receptor is a small structure that is exquisitely sensitive to minute changes in muscle length. It provides the most important feedback caused by active or passive lengthening or stretching of muscles.

#21