Topic: injury

What happens when the nervous system fails to adapt? Our perception of the world relies on a nervous system that learns and adapts to sensory information. Based on our experience we can predict what a wooden surface will feel like, that fire is hot, and that a gentle caress from a partner can be soothing. But our sensory experience of the world is not static – warm water can feel like fire on sunburned skin and the gentle brush of our clothes can be excruciating after an injury. In pathological conditions such as chronic pain, changes in nervous system function can cause normally innocuous sen