The Science of Pain Perception

Your body turns heat into electricity just to keep you alive. When you accidentally

grab a scorching hot teapot, your skin doesn't actually feel the pain immediately.

First, tiny sensors called thermal nociceptors get triggered and convert that heat

into an electrical signal. Then, A delta and C fibers act like a high-speed

highway, shooting that zap right up your spinal cord. It passes through

the thalamus and finally hits the somatosensory cortex. Only then does your brain realize you

are burning. If you didn't have those receptors, you could literally cook your hand without

ever noticing.