Human Senses
There's more than meets the eye to the human senses. Get started to learn more.
* * *
How many senses do we have?
In school, we're generally taught we have five senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch - but there's actually more to it...
* * *
We have a "sixth sense"
It's called proprioception, sometimes also known as kinesthesis.
This is how we sense ourselves in space.
How did you do that?
You can feel where your body is, even without touch, sight, or other senses.
This is proprioception - and like our other senses, it can be disrupted temporarily, or more permanently.
Temporary disruption
to proprioception is more frequent than you may think. It can happen if you're very tired, or when a person is growing relatively rapidly (for example, during their teen years). This causes what we'd normally experience as clumsiness: stumbling or tripping, for example.
More permanent damage can be more severe...
-
This is usually caused by brain injury, whether through accident or a stroke.
-
Severe and prolonged impairment can mean a person has to learn to rely heavily on their other senses to monitor their body in space.
-
They may, for example, lose their sense of of their body in space rapidly if their eyes are closed.
-
Proprioception works through neurons located in muscles, tendons, and joints that send information back to the brain.
There's more...
While proprioception is known as the "sixth sense", there's even more beyond this. Sensitive nerves and bones in your inner ear - known as the vestibular system - coordinate with proprioceptors in your muscles to help you balance (right).
There's more...
We also percieve pain and temparature through separate pathways from touch and pressure, and we even sense more abstract things like the passage of time. In short, we have at least six senses, and our sensory systems are arguably much richer than many people realise.
How many senses do you think we have?
Human Senses
We hope you enjoyed learning more about our many senses!
* * *