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Pain is an immediate attention getter.
疼痛是一种即刻生效的感觉。
And when we're in pain, we think we know the exact location of the source of that pain, for example, your knee or your back.
并且当我们感到疼痛时，我们以为自己知晓痛处所在，比如你的膝盖或后背。
But our ability to pinpoint pain varies across the body, and in a specific pattern.
但我们人类的身体对精确定位疼痛的能力分布是不同的，而是以一种特殊模式呈现出这种疼痛感知分布。
Scientists created stinglike discomfort on the surfaces of volunteers' bodies using two lasers.
科学家们用两种激光模拟出一种类似于蚊虫叮咬不舒服的的感觉对参与试验的志愿者身体进行测试。
They measured the minimum distance between the two pain points where the volunteer could still distinguish between the two stings.
他们随后测量了在可以区分两种疼痛的前提下，这两个不同痛点位置之间的最小距离。
And they found that this capacity to discern different pain points, called spatial acuity, improves as we move towards the center of our bodies.
而他们发现这种区分不同疼痛点的能力，也就是所谓的空间视敏度，会随着我们向身体中心的偏移而提高。
For example, we're better at detecting the two pain points on the shoulders than at the wrists.
比如，我们对肩部两点的疼痛感知会比手腕附近的两点要更灵敏。
The scientists also tested our acuity for touch, assuming it might be similar to pain.
科学家们还测试了触觉的灵敏度，前提是与疼痛感知灵敏度相似。
While we tend to have an equal ability to detect touch and pain, scientists found that our acuity for simple touch decreases towards the center of the body.
当我们趋向于对接触和疼痛的感知能力相等时，科学家们发现我们对身体中心部位的的简单接触比外侧要弱。
So in this case it's harder for us to detect non-painful touch at our shoulders than at our wrists.
因此，在这种情况下，对无痛的接触方面的感知度在肩部会比手腕部位要更难检测。
The exception to this rule of thumb, if you will, is our fingers.
上述规则对拇指不成立，如果你希望的话，手指也是如此。
The digits are sensitive to both pain and touch.
四肢的趾头对疼痛和触摸式很敏感的。
But it's not because fingers have more nerve fibers.
但这并不是因为手指部分汇集更多神经纤维的缘故。
The researchers think it might be a question of information processing.
研究人员们认为这可能是信息处理方面的一个问题。
Because we use our fingers constantly, we're more practiced at sensing them.
因为我们总是不间断地使用手指脚趾，所以被迫进行了不少感知活动。
Whether they're playing the piano, or hammering a nail.
无论它们是在弹钢琴，还是在钉钉子。
