HOW THE OTHER SENSES

ARE LIKE VISION AND

HEARING
 POSITION & MOVEMENT
KINESTHETIC AND VESTIBULAR SENSES

Vestibular Sense
It’s the body position sense that orients us with respect to gravity.
It tells us the posture of our bodies, it also tells us when we are
moving or how are motion is changing. The receptors for this
sense are the tiny hairs in the semicircular canals of the inner ear.
These hairs respond to our movements by detecting movements
in the fluid of the semicircular canals.

Disorders of this sense can cause extreme dizziness and

disorientation like for example, motion sickness.
Kinesthetic Sense
This other sense of position movements, keeps track of
body parts relative to each other. It makes us aware of
crossing your legs, for example, and tells you which
hand is closer to the phone when it rings. It provides
constant sensory feedback about what your muscles are
doing during motor activities. Receptors for kinesthesis
reside in the joints, muscles, and tendons, these
receptors connect to processing regions in the brain’s
parietal lobes.
VESTIBULAR SENSE KINESTHETIC SENSE
 SMELL SENSE
The sense of smell, or olfaction, involves a chain of biochemical events.
1. Odors interact with the receptor proteins associated with specialized
cell in the nose .
2. The stimulated nerve cell convey information about the stimulus to
the brain’s olfactory bulbs, where the sensations of smell are
realized.
In humans, olfaction has an intimate connection with memory. It also
remains as a major factor for survival because it helps us detect and
avoid potential sources of danger like decaying food.
In animals, the sense of smell is used for communication.They use
odorous signals called pheromones.
Pheromones: signal sexual receptivity, danger territorial boundaries
and food sources.
 TASTE SENSE

The sense of taste, or gustation, has long been known to

have four main qualities: sweet, sour, bitter, and salty.
Recently, a fifth taste quality called unami has been
identified, it is associated with monosodium
glutamate often used i asian cuisine.
The taste receptors cells, located in the taste buds in the
top and side of the tongue,easily sample flavors.
These receptors cluster in small mucous-membrane
projections called papillae.
 Individuals vary in their sensitivity to taste
sensations.
 There are those who have more taste buds for bitter
flavor called ‘supertasters’ are more senseitive than
regular tasters or extreme nontasters.
 A specialized nerve called ‘hotline’ carries nothing
but taste messages to specialized regions of the
cortex. The tastes are realized on the parietal lobe’s
somatosensory area.
 SKIN SENSE
 The skin has a remarkable versatility:
 Protects us against surface injury

 Holds in body fluids

 Helps regulate body temperature

The skin senses are sensory systems for processing touch,

warmth and cold.
In general our sensitivity is greatest where we need it the
most,in our faces tongues and hands.
Touch plays an important plays a central role in human
relationships. Through touch we communicate our desire
to receive or to give comfort,support,love, and passion
 PAIN
 If you have severe pain nothing else matters.Pain
can arise from intense stimulation of various
kinds, such as a very loud sound, heavy pressure,
or an bright light.
 Some people who have lost an arm or a leg
experience a condition known as phantom limb,in
which the amputee experiences very painful
sensations that seem to como from the missing
body part.
 GATE- CONTROL THEORY
 Let's go through the theory step by step:
 Without any stimulation, both large and small nerve fibers are quiet and
the inhibitory interneuron (I) blocks the signal in the projection neuron (P)
that connects to the brain. The "gate is closed" and therefore NO PAIN.
 With non-painful stimulation, large nerve fibers are activated primarily.
This activates the projection neuron (P), BUT it ALSO activates the
inhibitory interneuron (I) which then BLOCKS the signal in the projection
neuron (P) that connects to the brain. The "gate is closed" and therefore
NO PAIN.
 With pain stimulation, small nerve fibers become active. They activate the
projection neurons (P) and BLOCK the inhibitory interneuron (I). Because
activity of the inhibitory interneuron is blocked, it CANNOT block the
output of the projection neuron that connects with the brain. The "gate is
open", therefore,PAIN!!