Touch.
Essential to writing fiction. The light touch of a lover. The pain of a punch. The bitter cold of the wind. The tickle of fur. The pressure of holding a magic orb.
Did you know that while we put “touch” as one big bucket, it actually is a huge network of different sensors with different jobs? Location, movement, temperature, pressure, texture. Some of the sensors are set up to register changes and others report back constantly. For example, have you ever forgotten you were holding something? That would be the sensors set up to register changes recorded the picking up of the item, but after a while, with no further change, stops reminding the brain you are holding something.
To find out more about touch, here are three short videos.
2 Minute Neuroscience: Touch Receptors (10/21/2019 from Neuroscientifically Challenged)
Dr Mike’s Video – I did not know that pain and touch take two different routes up the spinal cord.