Why can’t a person tickle himself? In this article, we look at the answer to this question…
Most of us have ticklish areas on one or more parts of our body, and it’s usually pretty easy to find. Laughing is also a pretty natural reaction when someone else tickles you. Scientists say the sensation of being tickled causes panic and is a natural defense against creepy small reptiles like spiders and insects. Light tickles from insects can send a chill through your body, making you realize that something is on you.
The same tickling sensation puts us in a state of panic and provokes an uncontrollable laughter response when someone tickles us. The moment you least expect to be tickled will make you feel extremely restless and panicked, resulting in the most intense tickling sensation. Even if you know you’re about to be tickled, the fear and restlessness of someone touching you and possibly hurting you will cause you to laugh. Some people get so tickled that they start laughing without even being touched.
Why can’t we tickle ourselves?
But if someone else’s touch can tickle us, why can’t we tickle ourselves? A clear explanation of this problem has not been given yet. But research shows that the brain is trained to know what to feel when a person moves or performs any function. We are unaware of the many sensations our actions create. For example, you probably don’t pay much attention to your vocal cords when speaking. For the same reason, we can’t tickle ourselves. If we hold our sides to tickle ourselves, our brain already anticipates this contact from the hands and prepares itself for it. By removing the feeling of discomfort and panic, the body no longer reacts to someone else tickling us.
Neuroscientists at University College London propose the cerebellum as the part of the brain that prevents us from tickling ourselves. The cerebellum is the area at the base of the brain that monitors our movements. Can distinguish expected sensations from unexpected sensations. An expected feel will be the amount of pressure your fingers put on your keyboard as you type. An unexpected sensation may be that someone approaches from behind and taps your shoulder. The brain pays close attention to the fact that someone taps your shoulder as it throws off the feeling of typing. The expected to unexpected difference in response is likely an established response developed to detect predators in early human history.
“Tickle robot” at your command
While we cannot tickle ourselves unaided, there is a way to trick the brain using a robot tickler. You did not misread; With all the know-how of science and technology, a robot was designed that would allow humans to tickle themselves. The same British scientists mentioned above have designed a machine that allows you to tickle yourself with a remote control.
To use the machine, a person lies on their back with their eyes closed. The robot is near the person with a piece of soft foam attached to a plastic stick controlled by a remote joystick. When the person activates the bar, the robot reacts after a short delay. Even with delays of as little as one-fifth of a second from the moment the person activates the stick to the robot tickling the person’s hand, the subjects described the sensation as being the same as when another person tickled them. So in a sense, you can tickle yourself with a robotic assistant.
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