Nobel Prize: how chili peppers helped researchers uncover how humans feel pain

By Francis McGlone, Professor in Neuroscience, Liverpool John Moores University

Think about how often we sense touch or temperature. Perhaps its the warmth we feel when we hold a coffee cup, or the comfort we feel when hugging a loved one – these sensations are integral to our everyday lives and how we interact with our world. These sensations are all part of our somatosensory system, which is responsible for many different sensations – including temperature, touch, body position and movement, pain and itch. Some might say that the combined effects of our somatosensory system are the very essence of what it is to connect to the world around us, and to experience it.
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