AP Psych Unit 2 | Sensory Interaction

Sensory interaction

The principle that one sense can influence another, such as when smell affects taste.

• Demonstrates how our senses work together to create our overall perception of the world

Olfactory systems

• Responsible for smell

• Special receptors in the nose detect smells and send signals to the brain via the olfactory nerve

• The thalamus helps process this information, allowing us to identify different odors

Pheromones

Chemical substances released by animals, including humans, that trigger social or behavioral responses in others of the same species

• important to communication, mating, & territorial marking

Gustation

The sense of taste

• involves receptors on the tongue that detect different flavors

Supertasters

Highly sensitive to taste and experience flavors more intensely, especially bitterness

Medium tasters

Have an average sensitivity to taste and experience flavors moderately

Nontasters

Less sensitive to taste and experience flavors less intensely than others

Warm/cold receptors

Specialized sensory neurons in the skin that detect changes in temperature and help us perceive and regulate body temperature

• warm receptors respond to increases in temperature

• cold receptors respond to decreases in temperature

Pain

Is not a sensation but an emotional response to stimuli

• fits the traditional understanding of pain when working in conjunction with tissue damage, however, there are many instances where people could experience the same stimulus and either experience or not experience pain

Gate control theory

Proposes that the experience of pain is modulated by a neural “gate” in the spinal cord

• the gate can open to allow pain signals to be transmitted to the brain or close to block them

Phantom limb

Feeling pain or other sensations in a missing limb

• occurs due to brain’s continued perception of the limb

• these sensations can range from tingling to intense pain and are thought to result from the process of plasticity in the somatosensory cortex following amputation

Vestibular sense

The sense of body orientation and movement, including balance and spatial awareness

• relies on receptors in the inner ear that detect changes in head position and movement

Semicircular canals

Fluid-filled structures in the inner ear that detect rotational head movements

• crucial to vestibular sense by sending signals to the brain about changes in head position and movement

Kinesthesis

The sense of body movement and position, including awareness of muscle and joint sensations

• allows perception and control of bodily movements by providing feedback to brain about position and orientation of body parts