The Other Senses

The Big 5. Touch Taste, Smell, Hearing, Sight.

Pain/Touch

Pain is the body's way of signaling something is wrong. It alerts us that something is not going well, sort of like fear because they both keep us alive.

^^Biological Influences^^

  • Activity in spinal cord’s large and small fibers.
  • Genetic Differences in endorphin production.
  • The brain's interpretation of CNS activity.

Nociceptors: Detect hurtful temperatures, pressure, or chemicals.

Gate-Control Theory: Spinal Cord contains a neurological gate that blocks pain signals or allows them to go to the brain.

  • Small Nerve Fibers open the gate.
  • Large Nerve Fibers close the gate.
    • This theory explains how acupuncture works. Acupuncture is an ancient Chinese practice of inserting needles into the skin at certain points to alleviate pain. This practice may work because the needles create a competing sensation that blocks pain signals.

PsychologicalInfluencesPsychological Influences

  • Attention to pain.
  • Learning based on experience.
  • Expectation

Athletes play through pain because they want to win.

==Social-Cultural Influences==

  • Presence of others
  • Empathy for others pain
  • Cultural Expectations

We tend to experience more pain when others also experience it.

Taste

Sweet, Salty, Sour, Bitter, Umami

TasteReason
SweetEnergy Sources
SaltySodium Essential to psychological processes
SourPotentially Toxic Acid
BitterPotential Poisons
UmamiProteins we need to heal

Taste Receptors reproduce every 2 weeks.

The tongue is covered with bumps called Papillae. Each papillae contains taste buds.

  • Taste buds are filled with gustatory cells.
    • These cells do tasting.

Smell

Olfaction: Sense of Smell

Odorant: A substance giving off a smell.

<<^^Steps of Smell^^<<

  1. <<Odorants bind to receptors.<<
  2. <<Olfactory receptor cells are activated and send electrical signals.<<
  3. <<The signals are relayed via converged axons.<<
  4. <<The signals are transmitted to higher regions of the brain.<<

Other Other Senses

Vestibular Sense: Body movement and position that enables our sense of balance.

  • Visual Stability
  • Balance
  • Spatial Orientation
  • Autonomic

Kinesthesia: Our senses of position and movement of individual body arts.

Embodied Cognition: The influence of bodily sensations and gestures, and other states on cognitive preferences and judgments.

McGurk Effect: If you have the same sound being present, but lips are moving differently, you have a misinterpretation of what is being said.