Our Senses

1. Visual (Vision) - The primary job of the visual system is for seeing. The occipital lobe is responsible for this sense. We take in projections through our retina where it is then decoded and the information is sent to the occipital lobe for processing. Some information that we take in includes colors, shapes, motion, and orientation.

2. Gustatory (Taste) - The gustatory system is in charge of our sense of taste. This includes discriminating between types of taste such as sweet and salty or sour and bitter. This is important because it helps our body get what we need so it can regulate itself. For example, our body needs salt for this regulation so we often enjoy salty things which in turn increases our water intake and helps stabilize and maintain our body's internal environment. Our bodies understand that different tastes often mean different things. As I stated about salty, our body also associates other flavors with different things. Sour can be good to a certain point but when it is too sour it becomes unpleasant to taste. This prevents us from eating over-ripe fruit, rotten meat, or other spoiled foods. Bitter foods are usually avoided due to its unpleasant taste. This is because many harmful foods and chemicals have a bitter taste. Some good examples of this include caffeine, nicotine, and strychnine (poisonous chemical). Sweet typically means that there are carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are high in calories and energy so our body views this as desirable.

3. Tactile (Touch) - Our tactile system is where we process information that we gain through touch. This system also connects many areas of the brain which incorporates touch, pressure, temperature, and pain. Because of this, the tactile system is an intricate part of sensory processing. It helps understand the differences between what feels good and what hurts. The tactile system takes in the information, sends it to the brain where it is processed, which then tells the rest of our body what is needed to be regulated. An example for this is putting your hand on a hot surface. Your body takes in that the surface is very hot, sends that information to the brain where it is decided if this hot surface is going to do damage to the body, and then depending on this information tells you that you should move your hand. The tactile system is often considered a foundational system for sensory treatments due to its wide reaching intake of information.

4. Auditory (Hearing) - Our auditory system is where we take in sounds. This happens through our ears which send the information to brain. Our brain then processes the frequency or amplitude and decodes it so we can understand the information. This is key to our understanding of language as well as potentially harmful amounts of sound. Next time you are at a loud sporting event, the crowd gives a big cheer, and you reach to cover your ears, know that this is the auditory system at work.

5. Olfactory (Smell) - The olfactory system is all about our sense of smell. As we take in these smells, the information goes to the olfactory bulb which sends the information from the nose to the brain. What makes the olfactory system unique is that there is only one source from which we take in the information. This information includes detecting odors, discrimination of odors, filtering out of background odors, and response to the odor. As with taste, most unpleasant smells mean that they are harmful to the body. When we get this information it helps to tell the rest of the body to get away from this odor to keep itself safe. This includes smells that others may find pleasant. Think about a food that you find just terrible and odds are you can't even stand the smell while the person next to you might think it is great. Each of the senses helps to keep away unpleasant or dangerous things and the olfactory system is no different.

The "Other" Senses

6. Vestibular (Balance) - As the first of our "other" senses, the vestibular system is key in understanding balance and orientation in space. This includes our movement and our head position. We move in 2 ways: linear (side-to-side) and rotationally. The vestibular system reads these movements by using a semicircular canal system, which is for rotation, and the otoliths, which are for linear movement. This system sends signals to the brain that then controls our eye movements to keep us upright. The parts of the vestibular system are located in the inner ear and have matching pairs on each side. They work in opposites, meaning that if one pushes then the other pulls. Together they help us sense rotation in all directions. Our vestibular system has an immense impact on many different parts of the brain including the cerebellum, thalamus, cranial nerves, spinal cord, and brainstem. The above information is only a basic introduction to the vestibular system and this system is a key part of our sensory processing along with sensory processing disorders.

7. Proprioceptive (Movement) - The next "other" sense is the proprioceptive system. This system senses our muscle and/or joint movements. It senses the position, location, orientation, and movement of the muscles and joints and their position related to the other parts of the body as well as the effort needed to move the body parts. In other words, it helps us know where our body parts are without having to look at them. It is our coordination and knowledge of how much force to use when we complete different actions. By being made up of our muscles and joints, when we are young and growing our proprioceptive sense may be off due to our growth leading to incoordination among other things. Paired with the vestibular system, the proprioceptive is the other key part of sensory processing and sensory processing disorders.

8. Interoceptive (Internal) - Lastly for the "other" senses we have the interoceptive sense. It is one that we rarely think about and can frequently be problematic. Interoception is the sense of our body's physiological and physical condition. It helps us to understand how we feel inside including when we are hungry or thirsty. It regulates our entire body's functions such as body temperature, hunger, thirst, heart rate, breathing, and elimination (going to the bathroom). There has also been some connection between this system and our emotions, energy, and stress. The interoceptive system is how we self-regulate which is a huge part of our lives.

Time to Reflect

Think about sitting at a table and having a cup of coffee. What is each sense doing?