The nose knows.
The sensory system that allows us to detect and discriminate odors.
What is the sense of smell?
This system in human beings is found to be weak as compared to other animals; however, it seems to be very precise. It can detect and discriminate millions of chemical moieties (odorants) even in minuscule quantities. The process initiates with the binding of odorants to specialized olfactory receptors, encoded by a large family of Olfactory Receptor (OR) genes. Stimulation of ORs converts the chemical information encoded in the odorants, into respective neuronal action-potentials which causes depolarization of olfactory sensory neurons. The olfactory bulb relays this signal to different parts of the brain for processing. Odors are encrypted using a combinatorial approach to detect a variety of chemicals and encode their unique identity.
The sensory system that is (partially) responsible for the perception of flavor.
What is the sense of taste?
Taste is the perception stimulated when a substance in the mouth reacts chemically with taste receptor cells located on taste buds in the oral cavity, mostly on the tongue.
The sensory system that allows us to perceive sound.
What is hearing?
The sensory system that detects light in the visible spectrum reflected by objects in the environment.
What is seeing?
The sensory system that consists of receptors in our skin that receive and give messages related to pressure, vibration, texture, temperature, and pain.
What is the sense of touch?
The sense of smell is also called this, more formally.
What is the olfactory system or olfaction?
Among all the senses possessed by humans, sense of smell/ olfaction is the most primeval and volatile sense. It detects, encodes and discriminates among thousands of small airborne chemicals (odorants); which are volatile, lighter, largely hydrophobic organic compounds possessing varied chemical structure and properties, often at very small concentrations. However, olfaction is vital not just to identify and discriminate odorants, it adds an emotional attribute to the objects or events, influences our mood and thoughts, acts as a catalyst in social interactions (modulates behavior and interpersonal relationships) and has played a significant role in the evolution of human habitats.
The sense of taste is also called this, more formally.
What is gustation or the gustatory system?
A bitter pill, sour grapes or sweet nothings – descriptions of taste are very often associated with strong emotions. They express in words states of intense pleasure as well as displeasure.
This strong link connecting taste with emotion and drive has to do with our evolution: Taste was a sense that aided us in testing the food we were consuming. It was therefore a matter of survival. A bitter or sour taste was an indication of poisonous inedible plants or of rotting protein-rich food. The tastes sweet and salty, on the other hand, are often a sign of food rich in nutrients.
The sense of hearing is also called this, more formally.
What is the auditory system or auditory perception?
The sense of sight is also called this, more formally.
What is the visual system or visual perception?
The sense of touch is also called this, more formally.
What is the tactile system or tactile processing?
Name 2 generally calming smells.
What is vanilla, faint lavender (for most people)...what else?
Name at least 4 of the 5 qualities of taste that are located on the tongue to create flavor signals.
What is sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and savory/umami?
Based on the information that is transported from the tongue to the brain, there are thought to be at least five basic qualities of taste. Many dishes are made up of a combination of different tastes. Some dishes taste sweet-sour, for example, while others are salty and savory.
There is a long-held misconception that the tongue has specific zones for each flavor where you can taste sweet or sour, for example, especially well. But this myth is based on an incorrect reading of an illustration of the tongue. You can still find these zones in many textbooks today.
Sweet, sour, salty, bitter and savory tastes can actually be sensed by all parts of the tongue. Only the sides of the tongue are more sensitive than the middle overall. This is true of all tastes – with one exception: the back of our tongue is very sensitive to bitter tastes. This is apparently to protect us so that we can spit out poisonous or spoiled foods or substances before they enter the throat and are swallowed.
Among many other functions, this system processes the sensation of any change in position, direction, or movement of the head. The receptors are located in the inner ear and are activated by the fluid in the ear canals moving as you move.
What is the vestibular system/sense of movement?
Together with the cochlea, a part of the auditory system, it constitutes the labyrinth of the inner ear in most mammals.
The collection of senses providing information about the internal state of the body. This can be both conscious and subconscious.
What is interoception?
Linked to emotion regulation, interoceptive awareness is affected by one's previous experiences of stress – suggesting that interoceptive processes are one way in which stress can alter the capacity to tune into emotion and hence regulate emotion.
The sense that lets us perceive the location, movement, and action of parts of the body. It encompasses a complex of sensations, including perception of joint position and movement, muscle force, and effort.
What is proprioception?
Name at least 3 generally alerting smells,
What is mint, citrus (orange, lemon, lime, etc.), cinnamon....others?
In sensory processing terms, a person who puts hot sauce on EVERYTHING is likely:
A. Hyper (over) responsive to taste
B. Hypo (under) responsive to taste
B. Hypo/under responsive to taste
This person may be seeking more intense flavors, because neurologically, they have a "big cup"/it takes a lot more input for their nervous system to register it, and they are using an active strategy to meet that sensory need.
Describe the experience that someone who is hyper/over-responsive to vestibular input/movement might have while riding a roller coaster or reading while sitting in a moving vehicle.
What is motion sickness?
This body process is achieved and maintained by a complex set of sensorimotor control systems that include sensory input from vision (sight), proprioception (touch), and the vestibular system (motion, equilibrium, spatial orientation); integration of that sensory input; and motor output to the eye and body muscles.
What is balance?
Balance is the ability to maintain the body’s center of mass over its base of support. A properly functioning balance system allows humans to see clearly while moving, identify orientation with respect to gravity, determine direction and speed of movement, and make automatic postural adjustments to maintain posture and stability in various conditions and activities.
When in doubt about whether you need to use alerting or calming input, proprioceptive input is the way to go because it is modulating, meaning that it will bring you to the "just right"/middle range of alertness regardless of where your level of alertness is at the moment. What do we call proprioceptive input more casually?
What is "heavy joint and muscle work"?
Proprioceptive input or "heavy joint and muscle work" are activities that involve pushing, pulling, or carrying heavy objects.
When a person helps another individual to regulate it is called what?
What is Co-regulation?
We usually think of adults helping younger folk. However, adults help adults all the time. Think about when a friend or family member was upset and you gave them a hug. Or, a time when they were angry and you listened. One unique feature of mammals is that we frequently co-regulate. You will see a mother cat co-regulate its kitten through licking, but you would never observe reptiles such as snakes or crocodiles doing this with their babies!
Co-regulation helps them to develop the brain networks and strategies they need to self-regulate.
The ability to stay regulated without the help of others is called what?
What is Self-regulation?
It is the ability to use your own strategies to either calm down or energize. Some individuals need more help to learn how to self-regulate than others. Sensory regulation strategies can help with self-regulation. As can cognitive strategies.
Name the part of the brain responsible for emotional regulation.
What is the frontal lobe?
Emotional regulation refers to the ability to regulate our emotions. Teenagers often find this more difficult as their hormones and brain connections are changing. They need time to get used to these changes. The front part of our cortex is responsible for emotional regulation. The connections to this part of the brain continue to develop into adulthood. The ability to regulate emotions improves as these connections strengthen.
Name 5 specific generally alerting sensory strategies.
This could be anything meant to increase alertness and could include:
Temperature extremes
Light touch
Fast, irregular movement like spinning
Strong smells and flavors like citrus, peppermint, spicy cinnamon
Name 5 specific generally calming sensory strategies.
This could be anything meant to reduce alertness and could include:
neutral warmth,
deep pressure,
slow, linear, predictable movement like rocking,
comforting, subtle smells and flavors