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with the sensory receptors found in the skin, muscles, tendons, ligaments and joint capsules. These receptors are called proprioceptors. Simply put, proprioceptors are the exact opposite of the CNS. Instead of sending orders to the extremities, the proprioceptors gather information from the extremities (regarding temperature, speed, and direction) and send it back to the CNS. If a finger touches a hot stovetop, for example, the proprioceptors in the skin send a message of Hurt! to the CNS, which then orders the fingers to withdraw from the burning surface. While this may sound like a reasonable arrangement, consider that although the CNS issues commands in an orderly fashion, proprioceptors continuously barrage the CNS with questionable information from unsubstan- tiated sources. And while the chief executive makes logical decisions based upon fact and 
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past experience, proprioceptors convey purely emotional messages that often demand, like a spoiled child, an immediate response. Thus the conflict becomes apparent. While the brain works to keep the body functioning smoothly, proprioceptors often incite irrational and even dangerous behavior. Then when some- thing does happen -- a stubbed toe, a bad burn, a compound break, a deep and scarring laceration -- the proprioceptors flood the CNS with complaints. One logical, the other irrational. One strategic, the other opportunistic. One unifying, the other anarchistic. Indeed, in some instances proprioceptors are no better than traitors. For example, when a foreign aggressor threatens the body, it is the CNS's job to present a unified front and strike back with force. Yet proprioceptors typically disrupt such decisive action by questioning the chief executive's actions.  |
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