Chapter 6 E Other Senses DoNow Discussion What

Chapter 6 (E): Other Senses

Do-Now (Discussion) § What are some vital characteristics of the following senses: § Touch § Kinesthesis § Vestibular § Taste § Smell

Touch § Touch: § Includes four distinct skin senses: § Pressure § Warmth § Cold § Pain

Homunculus

Touch § Kinesthesis: § The system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts Whirling Dervishes

Touch § Vestibular Sense: § The sense of body movement and position, including the sense of balance § Located in the inner ear Wire Walk

Touch § What do you think are some effects of an overactive vestibular sense? § An underactive vestibular sense?

Touch: Understanding Pain § Gate-Control Theory: § The theory that the spinal cord contains a neurological “gate” that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass on to the brain § The “gate” is opened by the activity of pain signals traveling up small nerve fibers and is closed by activity in larger fibers or by information coming from the brain § E. g. Rubbing the area around a stubbed toe will create competing stimulation that will block some pain messages

Touch: Understanding Pain §In addition to physiological factors, what else influences our perception of pain?

Biopsychosocial Influences of Pain

Touch: Understanding Pain § Methods of Pain Control: § Drugs § Surgery § Acupuncture § Exercise § Hypnosis § Thought Distraction

Taste Sweet Sour Salty Bitter Umami (Fresh Chicken)

Taste § From an evolutionary perspective, why do you think we are sensitive to each of the five types of taste?

Taste § Survival Functions of Taste: § Sweet: Energy source § Salty: Sodium essential to physiological processes § Sour: Potentially toxic acid § Bitter: Potential poisons § Umami: Proteins to grow and repair tissue

Smell § Like taste, smell is a chemical sense. § Odorants enter the nasal cavity to stimulate 5 million receptors to sense smell. § Unlike taste, there are many different forms of smell.

Smell

Smell: Associations with Memory § Can you think of a smell that elicits a particular memory? § Why do you think this occurs?

Smell: Associations with Memory

Sensory Interaction § Sensory Interaction: § The principle that one sense may influence another § E. g. the taste of strawberry interacts with its smell and its texture on the tongue to produce flavor

Review § How does the Gate-Control Theory explain our perception of pain? § What are the survival functions of each of the five types of taste? § Why do smells often trigger memories? § Provide an example of sensory interaction.