Physiological Basis of Behaviour
Human Physiology/Senses
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Senses
Are the physiological methods of perception. The senses and their operation, classification, and theory are overlapping topics studied by a variety of fields. Sense is a faculty by which outside stimuli are perceived.
What are Senses?
We experience reality through our senses. A sense is a faculty by which outside stimuli are perceived. Many neurologists disagree about how many senses there actually are due to a broad interpretation of the definition of a sense. Our senses are split into two different groups. Our exteroceptors detect stimulation from the outsides of our body. For example smell, taste, and equilibrium. The interoceptors receive stimulation from the inside of our bodies. For instance, blood pressure dropping, changes in the glucose and Ph levels. Children are generally taught that there are five senses (sight, hearing, touch, smell, taste). However, it is generally agreed that there are at least seven different senses in humans, and a minimum of two more observed in other organisms. Sense can also differ from one person to the next. Take taste for an example: what may taste great to one person will taste awful to someone else. This all has to do with how the brain interprets the stimuli that are received.
Chemoreception
The senses of gustation (taste) and olfaction (smell) fall under the category of chemoreception. Specialized cells act as receptors for certain chemical compounds. As these compounds react with the receptors, an impulse is sent to the brain and is registered as a certain taste or smell. Gustation and olfaction are chemical senses because the receptors they contain are sensitive to the molecules in the food we eat, along with the air we breathe.
Gustatory System
In humans, the sense of taste is transduced by taste buds and is conveyed via three of the twelve cranial nerves. Cranial nerve VII, the facial
← The Nervous System — Human Physiology — The Muscular System →
Senses
Are the physiological methods of perception. The senses and their operation, classification, and theory are overlapping topics studied by a variety of fields. Sense is a faculty by which outside stimuli are perceived.
What are Senses?
We experience reality through our senses. A sense is a faculty by which outside stimuli are perceived. Many neurologists disagree about how many senses there actually are due to a broad interpretation of the definition of a sense. Our senses are split into two different groups. Our exteroceptors detect stimulation from the outsides of our body. For example smell, taste, and equilibrium. The interoceptors receive stimulation from the inside of our bodies. For instance, blood pressure dropping, changes in the glucose and Ph levels. Children are generally taught that there are five senses (sight, hearing, touch, smell, taste). However, it is generally agreed that there are at least seven different senses in humans, and a minimum of two more observed in other organisms. Sense can also differ from one person to the next. Take taste for an example: what may taste great to one person will taste awful to someone else. This all has to do with how the brain interprets the stimuli that are received.
Chemoreception
The senses of gustation (taste) and olfaction (smell) fall under the category of chemoreception. Specialized cells act as receptors for certain chemical compounds. As these compounds react with the receptors, an impulse is sent to the brain and is registered as a certain taste or smell. Gustation and olfaction are chemical senses because the receptors they contain are sensitive to the molecules in the food we eat, along with the air we breathe.
Gustatory System
In humans, the sense of taste is transduced by taste buds and is conveyed via three of the twelve cranial nerves. Cranial nerve VII, the facial
References: PQ) Hänig, D.P., 1901 PR) Collings, V.B., 1974 Buck, Linda and Richard Axel. (1991). A Novel Multigene Family May Encode Odorant Receptors: A Molecular Basis for Odor Recognition. Cell 65:175-183. http:/ / action. painfoundation. org/ site/ News2?page=NewsArticle& id=5135& security=1& news_iv_ctrl=1061 Esther Wednesday, October 19, 2005 http:/ / www