7TH Sense of Men

What are the 7 Senses?
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 What are the 7 Senses?

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Sensory integration is the neurological process that organizes sensation from one’s own body and the environment and makes it
possible to use the body effectively within the environment.
Sensory processing is the brain receiving, interpreting, and organizing input from all of the active senses at any given moment.
Download a full outline of the 7 Senses here.
The 7 Senses
Sight
Sight or vision is the capability of the eyes to focus and detect images of visible light and generate electrical nerveimpulses for
varying colors, hues, and brightness. Visual perception is how the brain processes these impulses – recognising, differentiating and
interpreting visual stimuli through comparison with experiences made earlier in life.
Smell
Smell or olfaction is our ability to detect scent – chemical, odour molecules in the air. Our olfactory system begins in our nose which
has hundreds of olfactory receptors. Odour molecules possess a variety of features and, thus, excite specific receptors more or less
strongly. This combination of excitement is interpreted by the brain to perceive the ‘smell’.
How olfactory information is coded in the brain to allow for proper perception is still being researched and the process is not
completely understood, however, what is known is that the chemical nature of the odorant is particularly important, as there may be
a chemotopic map in the brain.
Taste
Taste, or gustation, refers to the capability to detect the taste of substances such as food, certain minerals, and poisons, etc. The
sense of taste is often confused with the “sense” of flavour, which is a combination of taste and smell perception.
Humans receive tastes through sensory organs called taste buds concentrated on the upper surface of the tongue. There are five
basic tastes: sweet, bitter, sour, salty and umami.
Hearing
Hearing, or audition, is the ability to perceive sound by detecting vibrations, changes in the pressure of the surrounding medium
through time, through an organ such as the ear. As with sight, auditory processing relies on how the brain interprets, recognises and
differentiates sound stimuli.
Touch
Touch, or somatosensory, is a perception resulting from activation of neural receptors, generally in the skin including hair follicles
and a variety of pressure receptors respond to variations in pressure (firm, brushing, sustained, etc.).
The somatosensory system is a diverse sensory system that is spread through all major parts of our body. At its simplest, the system
works when activity in a sensory receptor is triggered by a specific stimulus (such as heat); this signal eventually passes to an area in
the brain uniquely attributed to that area on the body and this allows the processed stimulus to be felt at the correct location.
Vestibular
The vestibular system explains the perception of our body in relation to gravity, movement and balance. The vestibular system
measures acceleration, g-force, body movements and head position. Examples of the vestibular system in practice include knowing
that you are moving when you are in an elevator, knowing whether you are lying down or sat up, and being able to walk along a
balance beam.
Proprioception
Proprioception is the sense of the relative position of neighbouring parts of the body and strength of effort being employed in
movement. This sense is very important as it lets us know exactly where our body parts are, how we are positioned in space and to
plan our movements. Examples of our proprioception in practice include being able to clap our hands together with our eyes closed,
write with a pencil and apply with correct pressure, and navigate through a narrow space.

TOUCH (TACTILE SYSTEM)
The tactile system refers to the awareness of touch through receptors in the skin. It consists of two levels – discrimination to tell
us where the touch is on our body, and a second level to tell us whether it is a safe or dangerous touch (sometimes known as a
‘fight or flight’ response). When a child is having difficulty in processing touch sensation, their brain may misinterpret the
information, and label sensations as dangerous unnecessarily, causing them to overreact to light touch. Deep pressure touch is
calming to the sensory system – this is why a massage is so relaxing!
SIGHT (VISUAL SYSTEM)
The visual system interprets what we see. It is necessary to recognizing shapes, colours, letters, words, and numbers. It is also
important in reading body language and other nonverbal cues during social interactions. Vision guides our movements, and we
continually check out actions with our eyes to make sure we move about safely. When children are having difficulty with visual
processing, they may have difficultly filtering out the unnecessary details, or may have trouble identifying important information.
HEARING (AUDITORY SYSTEM)
We use our auditory system to identify the quality, and direction of sound. It not only hears sound, it also helps us to understand
speech. When a child is having problems with auditory processing, they have difficulty with identifying the important
information, and blocking out the background noises. They may be very sensitive to loud noises, or easily distracted by small
noises (like the sound of the ceiling fan). Children with auditory processing difficulties will often struggle to focus in busy
environments, and may need to be told instructions over and over.
TASTE AND SMELL (GUSTATORY AND OLFACTORY SYSTEM)
Taste and smell are senses very closely linked and work as one integrated system. The sense of smell is one of the oldest and
most vital parts of the brain. The two senses together allow us to identify foods that we enjoy, and also tell us what is safe to eat.
If a child’s sense of smell or taste is not working properly, they may identify foods as unsafe or dangerous, and refuse to eat.
Smell is also directly linked to our emotional brain – we can use smells to access feeling of calm, alertness or pleasure within the
brain.
MOVEMENT (VESTIBULAR SYSTEM)
The vestibular system contributes to our balance and our sense of where our body is in space. It provides the most input about
movement in the body, and works with the auditory and visual system to give accurate information to the brain about the
direction the body is moving. It is important for the development of balance, coordination, eye control, attention, and even some
aspects of language development. If a child is not processing vestibular information effectivTely, they will have difficulty with
balance and coordination, and will rely on visual information to give them feedback about their body. Movement input received
by the vestibular system is generally alerting and can impact the nervous system for 6-8 hours.
BODY AWARENESS (PROPRIOCEPTION SYSTEM)
Proprioception or Kinesthetic System refers to the perception of sensation of the muscles and joints enabling the brain to know
where each part of the body is and how it is moving. Proprioception was developed by the nervous system as a means to keep
track of and control the different parts of the body, using feedback from the movement of joints and muscles. It allows us to
know where the edges of our body are – how far away we are from a wall, or how much pressure we are exerting on a pencil.
Children with significant proprioceptive needs and decreased awareness of their bodies’ movements often seek out activities that
provide them with increased awareness, such as grasping objects very tightly, or jumping onto pillows or furniture. They have
difficulty knowing where their body is, in order to move it effectively. Proprioceptive input lasts around 2 hours – it provides
both calming sensations to overactive children, and alerting information to under stimulated children.

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What are the 7 Senses?

 What are the 7 Senses?

Download a full outline of the 7 Senses here.

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