Sensory Systems
Our senses allow us about to learn about our environment and our interactions with it, generating an internal representation of the world around us.
Sensation begins with receptors that generate signals passing to the CNS, where perception takes place.
All sensory systems convey four basic types of information: modality, location, intensity, and timing. Modality is determined by stimulus energy, both frequency and amplitude.
Biological perception of each of the senses is discussed under their respective headings, while a more conceptual approach is taken here.
The bodily senses include touch, pain, and temperature. Deep sensation includes muscle and joint position sense (proprioreception), deep muscle pain, and vibration.
Dermatomes are segmental areas of the skin which are innervated by the sensory components of specific spinal nerves.
Special senses, - vision, smell, taste, hearing, and balance - are communicated via cranial nerves.
Visceral sensation, relayed by the autonomic nervous system, describe hunger, nausea, and visceral pain.