SENSE

A sense is a physiological capacity of organisms that provides data for perception. The senses and
their operation, classification, and theory are overlapping topics studied by a variety of fields, most
notably neuroscience, cognitive psychology (or cognitive science), and philosophy of perception.
The system has a specific sensory nervous system, and a sense organ, or sensor, dedicated to each
sense.

Humans have a multitude of sensors. Sight (vision, visual sense), hearing (audition, auditory sense),
taste (gustation, gustatory sense), smell (olfaction, olfactory sense), and touch (somatosensorial,
somatosensory sense) are the five traditionally recognized senses. The ability to detect other stimuli
beyond those governed by these most broadly recognized senses also exists, and these sensory
modalities include temperature (thermoception), kinesthetics sense (proprioception), pain
(nociception), balance (equilibrioception), vibration (mechanoreception), and various internal stimuli
(e.g. the different chemoreceptors for detecting salt and carbon dioxide concentrations in the blood,
or sense of hunger and sense of thirst). However, what constitutes a sense is a matter of some
debate, leading to difficulties in defining what exactly a distinct sense is, and where the borders lie
between responses to related stimuli.

Other animals also have receptors to sense the world around them, with degrees of capability
varying greatly between species. Humans have a comparatively weak sense of smell and a stronger
sense of sight relative to many other mammals while some animals may lack one or more of the
traditional five senses. Some animals may also intake and interpret sensory stimuli in very different
ways. Some species of animals are able to sense the world in a way that humans cannot, with some
species able to sense electrical and magnetic fields, and detect water pressure and currents[1]

Five "traditional" senses

Sight

In this painting by Pietro Paolini, each individual represents one of the five senses.[4]

Sight or vision (adjectival form: visual/optical) is the capability of the eye(s) to focus and detect images of
visible light on photoreceptors in the retina of each eye that generates electrical nerve impulses for
varying colors, hues, and brightness. There are two types of photoreceptors: rods and cones. Rods are
very sensitive to light but do not distinguish colors. Cones distinguish colors but are less sensitive to dim
light. There is some disagreement as to whether this constitutes one, two or three senses.
Neuroanatomists generally regard it as two senses, given that different receptors are responsible for the
perception of color and brightness. Some argue[citation needed] that stereopsis, the perception of depth using
both eyes, also constitutes a sense, but it is generally regarded as a cognitive (that is, post-sensory)
function of the visual cortex of the brain where patterns and objects in images are recognized and
interpreted based on previously learned information. This is called visual memory.
The inability to see is called blindness. Blindness may result from damage to the eyeball, especially to the
retina, damage to the optic nerve that connects each eye to the brain, and/or from stroke (infarcts in the
brain). Temporary or permanent blindness can be caused by poisons or medications.

People who are blind from degradation or damage to the visual cortex, but still have functional eyes, are
actually capable of some level of vision and reaction to visual stimuli but not a conscious perception; this
is known as blindsight. People with blindsight are usually not aware that they are reacting to visual
sources, and instead just unconsciously adapt their behavior to the stimulus.

On February 14, 2013 researchers developed a neural implant that gives rats the ability to
sense infrared light which for the first time provides living creatures with new abilities, instead of simply
replacing or augmenting existing abilities.[5]

Hearing[edit]
Hearing or audition (adjectival form: auditory) is the sense of sound perception. Hearing is all about
vibration. Mechanoreceptors turn motion into electrical nerve pulses, which are located in the inner ear.
Since sound is vibration, propagating through a medium such as air, the detection of these vibrations,
that is the sense of the hearing, is a mechanical sense because these vibrations are mechanically
conducted from the eardrum through a series of tiny bones to hair-like fibers in the inner ear, which
detect mechanical motion of the fibers within a range of about 20 to 20,000 hertz,[6] with substantial
variation between individuals. Hearing at high frequencies declines with an increase in age. Inability to
hear is called deafness or hearing impairment. Sound can also be detected as vibrations conducted
through the body by tactition. Lower frequencies that can be heard are detected this way. Some deaf
people are able to determine the direction and location of vibrations picked up through the feet.[7]

Taste[edit]
Taste or gustation (adjectival form: gustatory) is one of the traditional five senses. It 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 flavor, which is a combination of taste and smell perception.

Philippe Mercier - The Sense of Taste - Google Art Project

Flavor depends on odor, texture, and temperature as well as on taste. Humans receive tastes through
sensory organs called taste buds, or gustatory calyculi, concentrated on the upper surface of the tongue.
There are five basic tastes: sweet, bitter, sour, salty and umami. Other tastes such as calcium[8][9] and free
fatty acids[10] may also be basic tastes but have yet to receive widespread acceptance. The inability to
taste is called ageusia.

Smell[edit]
Smell or olfaction (adjectival form: olfactory) is the other "chemical" sense. Unlike taste, there are
hundreds of olfactory receptors (388 according to one source[11]), each binding to a particular molecular
feature. Odor molecules possess a variety of features and, thus, excite specific receptors more or less
strongly. This combination of excitatory signals from different receptors makes up what we perceive as
the molecule's smell.

The sense of smell Philippe Mercier

In the brain, olfaction is processed by the olfactory system. Olfactory receptor neurons in the nose differ
from most other neurons in that they die and regenerate on a regular basis. The inability to smell is
called anosmia. Some neurons in the nose are specialized to detect pheromones.[12]

Touch[edit]
Touch or somatosensation (adjectival form: somatic), also called tactition (adjectival form: tactile)
or mechanoreception, is a perception resulting from activation of neural receptors, generally in
the skin including hair follicles, but also in the tongue, throat, and mucosa. A variety
of pressure receptors respond to variations in pressure (firm, brushing, sustained, etc.). The touch sense
of itching caused by insect bites or allergies involves special itch-specific neurons in the skin and spinal
cord.[13] The loss or impairment of the ability to feel anything touched is called
tactile anaesthesia. Paraesthesia is a sensation of tingling, pricking, or numbness of the skin that may
result from nerve damage and may be permanent or temporary.

Other senses
Balance and acceleration
Main article: Vestibular system

Balance, equilibrioception, or vestibular sense is the sense that allows an organism to sense body
movement, direction, and acceleration, and to attain and maintain postural equilibrium and balance. The
organ of equilibrioception is the vestibular labyrinthine system found in both of the inner ears. In
technical terms, this organ is responsible for two senses of angular momentum acceleration and linear
acceleration (which also senses gravity), but they are known together as equilibrioception.
The vestibular nerve conducts information from sensory receptors in three ampulla that sense motion of
fluid in three semicircular canals caused by three-dimensional rotation of the head. The vestibular nerve
also conducts information from the utricle and the saccule, which contain hair-like sensory receptors that
bend under the weight of otoliths (which are small crystals of calcium carbonate) that provide the inertia
needed to detect head rotation, linear acceleration, and the direction of gravitational force.

Temperature
Thermoception is the sense of heat and the absence of heat (cold) by the skin and internal skin passages,
or, rather, the heat flux (the rate of heat flow) in these areas. There are specialized receptors for cold
(declining temperature) and for heat (increasing temperature). The cold receptors play an important part
in the animal's sense of smell, telling wind direction. The heat receptors are sensitive to infrared radiation
and can occur in specialized organs, for instance in pit vipers. The thermoceptors in the skin are quite
different from the homeostatic thermoceptors in the brain (hypothalamus), which provide feedback on
internal body temperature.

Proprioception
Proprioception, the kinaesthetic sense, provides the parietal cortex of the brain with information on the
movement and relative positions of the parts of the body. Neurologists test this sense by telling patients
to close their eyes and touch their own nose with the tip of a finger. Assuming proper proprioceptive
function, at no time will the person lose awareness of where the hand actually is, even though it is not
being detected by any of the other senses. Proprioception and touch are related in subtle ways, and their
impairment results in surprising and deep deficits in perception and action.[14]

Pain
Nociception (physiological pain) signals nerve-damage or damage to tissue. The three types of pain
receptors are cutaneous (skin), somatic (joints and bones), and visceral (body organs). It was previously
believed that pain was simply the overloading of pressure receptors, but research in the first half of the
20th century indicated that pain is a distinct phenomenon that intertwines with all of the other senses,
including touch. Pain was once considered an entirely subjective experience, but recent studies show that
pain is registered in the anterior cingulate gyrus of the brain.[15] The main function of pain is to attract
our attention to dangers and motivate us to avoid them. For example, humans avoid touching a sharp
needle, or hot object, or extending an arm beyond a safe limit because it is dangerous, and thus hurts.
Without pain, people could do many dangerous things without being aware of the dangers.

Magnetoception
Magnetoception (or magnetoreception) is the ability to detect the direction one is facing based on the
Earth's magnetic field. Directional awareness is most commonly observed in birds, which rely on their
magnetic sense to navigate during migration.[16][16][17][permanent dead link][18][19] It has also been observed in insects
such as bees. Cattle make use of magnetoception to align themselves in a north-south
direction.[20] Magnetotactic bacteria build miniature magnets inside themselves and use them to
determine their orientation relative to the Earth's magnetic field.[21][22] There has been some recent
(tentative) research suggesting that the Rhodopsin in the human eye, which responds particularly well to
blue light, can facilitate magnetoception in humans.[23]

Sexual stimulation
Main article: Sexual stimulation
Sexual stimulation is any stimulus (including bodily contact) that leads to, enhances and maintains sexual
arousal, and may lead to orgasm. Distinct from the general sense of touch, sexual stimulation is strongly
tied to hormonal activity and chemical triggers in the body. Although sexual arousal may arise
without physical stimulation, achieving orgasm usually requires physical sexual stimulation (stimulation
of the Krause-Finger corpuscles[24] found in erogenous zones of the body).

Other internal senses[edit]

Main article: Interoception

An internal sense also known as interoception[25] is "any sense that is normally stimulated from within the
body".[26] These involve numerous sensory receptors in internal organs. Interoception is thought to be
atypical in clinical conditions such as alexithymia.[27] Some examples of specific receptors are:

Hunger is a sensation that is governed by a set of brain structures (e.g., the hypothalamus) that are
responsible for energy homeostasis.[28]

Pulmonary stretch receptors are found in the lungs and control the respiratory rate.

Peripheral chemoreceptors in the brain monitor the carbon dioxide and oxygen levels in the brain to give
a feeling of suffocation if carbon dioxide levels get too high.[29]

The chemoreceptor trigger zone is an area of the medulla in the brain that receives inputs from blood-
borne drugs or hormones, and communicates with the vomiting center.

Chemoreceptors in the circulatory system also measure salt levels and prompt thirst if they get too high;
they can also respond to high blood sugar levels in diabetics.

Cutaneous receptors in the skin not only respond to touch, pressure, temperature and vibration, but also
respond to vasodilation in the skin such as blushing.

Stretch receptors in the gastrointestinal tract sense gas distension that may result in colic pain.

Stimulation of sensory receptors in the esophagus result in sensations felt in the throat
when swallowing, vomiting, or during acid reflux.

Sensory receptors in pharynx mucosa, similar to touch receptors in the skin, sense foreign objects such as
mucous and food that may result in a gag reflex and corresponding gagging sensation.

Stimulation of sensory receptors in the urinary bladder and rectum may result in sensations of fullness.

Stimulation of stretch sensors that sense dilation of various blood vessels may result in pain, for example
headache caused by vasodilation of brain arteries.

Cardioception refers to the perception of the activity of the heart.[30][31][32][33]

Opsins and direct DNA damage in melanocytes and keratinocytes can sense ultraviolet radiation, which
plays a role in pigmentation and sunburn.

Baroreceptors relay blood pressure information to the brain and maintain proper homeostatic blood
pressure.

Perception not based on a specific sensory organ[edit]

Time[edit]
Main article: time perception
Chronoception refers to how the passage of time is perceived and experienced. Although the sense of
time is not associated with a specific sensory system, the work
of psychologists and neuroscientistsindicates that human brains do have a system governing
the perception of time,[34][35] composed of a highly distributed system involving the cerebral
cortex, cerebellum and basal ganglia. One particular component, the suprachiasmatic nucleus, is
responsible for the circadian (or daily) rhythm, while other cell clusters appear to be capable of shorter-
range (ultradian) timekeeping.

One or more dopaminergic pathways in the central nervous system appear to have a strong modulatory
influence on mental chronometry, particularly interval timing.[36]

Agency[edit]
Main article: Sense of agency

The sense of agency refers to the subjective feeling of having chosen a particular action. Some conditions,
such as schizophrenia, can lead to a loss of this sense, causing a person to feel like a machine or even
leading to delusions of being controlled from some outside source. The opposite extreme occurs too,
with some people experiencing everything in their environment as if they had decided that it would
happen.[37]

Even in non-pathological cases, there is a measurable difference between making a decision and the
feeling of agency. Through methods such as the Libet experiment, a gap of half a second or more can be
detected from the time when there are detectable neurological signs of a decision having been made to
the time when the subject actually becomes conscious of the decision.

There are also experiments in which an illusion of agency is induced in psychologically normal subjects. In
Wegner and Wheatley 1999, subjects were given instructions to move a mouse around a scene and point
to an image about once every thirty seconds. However, a second person—acting as a test subject but
actually a confederate—had their hand on the mouse at the same time, and controlled some of the
movement. Experimenters were able to arrange for subjects to perceive certain "forced stops" as if they
were their own choice.[38][39]

Familiarity[edit]
Recognition memory is sometimes divided into two functions by neuroscientists: familiarity and
recollection.[40] A strong sense of familiarity can occur without any recollection, for example in cases
of deja vu. The temporal lobe, in particular the perirhinal cortex, responds differently to stimuli which
feel novel than to things which feel familiar. Firing rates in the perirhinal cortex are connected with the
sense of familiarity in humans and other mammals. In tests, stimulating this area at 10–15 Hz caused
animals to treat even novel images as familiar, and stimulation at 30–40 Hz caused novel images to be
partially treated as familiar.[41] Specifically, stimulation at 30–40 Hz led to animals looking at a familiar
image for longer periods, as they would for an unfamiliar one; but it did not lead to the same exploration
behavior normally associated with novelty. Recent studies on lesions in the area concluded that rats with
a damaged perirhinal cortex were still more interested in exploring when novel objects were present, but
seemed unable to tell novel objects from familiar ones—they examined both equally. Thus, other brain
regions are involved with noticing unfamiliarity, but the perirhinal cortex is needed to associate the
feeling with a specific source.[42]
Non-human senses

Analogous to human senses[edit]

Other living organisms have receptors to sense the world around them, including many of the senses
listed above for humans. However, the mechanisms and capabilities vary widely.

Smell[edit]

Most non-human mammals have a much keener sense of smell than humans, although the mechanism is
similar.[citation needed] An example of smell in non-mammals is that of sharks, which combine their keen sense
of smell with timing to determine the direction of a smell. They follow the nostril that first detected the
smell.[43] Insects have olfactory receptors on their antennae. Although it is unknown to the degree and
magnitude which non-human animals can smell better than humans.[44]

Vomeronasal organ

Many animals (salamanders, reptiles, mammals) have a vomeronasal organ[45] that is connected with the
mouth cavity. In mammals it is mainly used to detect pheromones of marked territory, trails, and sexual
state. Reptiles like snakes and monitor lizards make extensive use of it as a smelling organ by transferring
scent molecules to the vomeronasal organ with the tips of the forked tongue. In reptiles the vomeronasal
organ is commonly referred to as Jacobsons organ. In mammals, it is often associated with a special
behavior called flehmen characterized by uplifting of the lips. The organ is vestigial in humans, because
associated neurons have not been found that give any sensory input in humans.[46]

Taste[edit]

Flies and butterflies have taste organs on their feet, allowing them to taste anything they land
on. Catfish have taste organs across their entire bodies, and can taste anything they touch, including
chemicals in the water.[47]

Vision and light sensing

Cats have the ability to see in low light, which is due to muscles surrounding their irides–which contract
and expand their pupils–as well as to the tapetum lucidum, a reflective membrane that optimizes the
image. Pit vipers, pythons and some boas have organs that allow them to detect infrared light, such that
these snakes are able to sense the body heat of their prey. The common vampire bat may also have an
infrared sensor on its nose.[48] It has been found that birds and some other animals are tetrachromats and
have the ability to see in the ultraviolet down to 300 nanometers. Bees and dragonflies[49] are also able to
see in the ultraviolet. Mantis shrimps can perceive both polarized light and multispectral images and have
twelve distinct kinds of color receptors, unlike humans which have three kinds and most mammals which
have two kinds.[50]

Cephalopods have the ability to change color using chromatophores in their skin. Researchers believe
that opsins in the skin can sense different wavelengths of light and help the creatures choose a coloration
that camouflages them, in addition to light input from the eyes.[51] Other researchers hypothesize
that cephalopod eyes in species which only have a single photoreceptor protein may use chromatic
aberrationto turn monochromatic vision into color vision,[52] explaining pupils shaped like the letter U, the
letter W, or a dumbbell, as well as explaining the need for colorful mating displays.[53] Some cephalopods
can distinguish the polarization of light.
Balance[edit]

Many invertebrates have a statocyst, which is a sensor for acceleration and orientation that works very
differently from the mammalian's semi-circular canals.

Sensing gravity[edit]

Some plants (such as mustard) have genes that are necessary for the plant to sense the direction of
gravity. If these genes are disabled by a mutation, a plant cannot grow upright.[54]

Not analogous to human senses[edit]

In addition, some animals have senses that humans do not, including the following:

Echolocation[edit]

Main article: Animal echolocation

Certain animals, including bats and cetaceans, have the ability to determine orientation to other objects
through interpretation of reflected sound (like sonar). They most often use this to navigate through poor
lighting conditions or to identify and track prey. There is currently an uncertainty whether this is simply
an extremely developed post-sensory interpretation of auditory perceptions or it actually constitutes a
separate sense. Resolution of the issue will require brain scans of animals while they actually perform
echolocation, a task that has proven difficult in practice.

Blind people report they are able to navigate and in some cases identify an object by interpreting
reflected sounds (especially their own footsteps), a phenomenon known as human echolocation.

Electroreception[edit]

Electroreception (or electroception) is the ability to detect electric fields. Several species of fish, sharks,
and rays have the capacity to sense changes in electric fields in their immediate vicinity. For cartilaginous
fish this occurs through a specialized organ called the Ampullae of Lorenzini. Some fish passively sense
changing nearby electric fields; some generate their own weak electric fields, and sense the pattern of
field potentials over their body surface; and some use these electric field generating and sensing
capacities for social communication. The mechanisms by which electroceptive fish construct a spatial
representation from very small differences in field potentials involve comparisons of spike latencies from
different parts of the fish's body.

The only orders of mammals that are known to demonstrate electroception are
the dolphin and monotreme orders. Among these mammals, the platypus[55] has the most acute sense of
electroception.

A dolphin can detect electric fields in water using electroreceptors in vibrissal crypts arrayed in pairs on
its snout and which evolved from whisker motion sensors.[56] These electroreceptors can detect electric
fields as weak as 4.6 microvolts per centimeter, such as those generated by contracting muscles and
pumping gills of potential prey. This permits the dolphin to locate prey from the seafloor where sediment
limits visibility and echolocation.

Spiders have been shown to detect electric fields to determine a suitable time to extend web for
'ballooning'.[57]

Body modification enthusiasts have experimented with magnetic implants to attempt to replicate this
sense.[58] However, in general humans (and it is presumed other mammals) can detect electric fields only
indirectly by detecting the effect they have on hairs. An electrically charged balloon, for instance, will
exert a force on human arm hairs, which can be felt through tactition and identified as coming from a
static charge (and not from wind or the like). This is not electroreception, as it is a post-sensory cognitive
action.

Hygroreception[edit]

Hygroreception is the ability to detect changes in the moisture content of the environment.[59][60]

Infrared sensing[edit]

Main article: Infrared sensing in snakes

The ability to sense infrared thermal radiation evolved independently in various families of snakes.
Essentially, it allows these reptiles to "see" radiant heat at wavelengths between 5 and 30 μm to a degree
of accuracy such that a blind rattlesnake can target vulnerable body parts of the prey at which it
strikes.[61] It was previously thought that the organs evolved primarily as prey detectors, but it is now
believed that it may also be used in thermoregulatory decision making.[62] The facial pit
underwent parallel evolution in pitvipers and some boas and pythons, having evolved once in pitvipers
and multiple times in boas and pythons.[63] The electrophysiology of the structure is similar between the
two lineages, but they differ in gross structural anatomy. Most superficially, pitvipers possess one large
pit organ on either side of the head, between the eye and the nostril (Loreal pit), while boas and pythons
have three or more comparatively smaller pits lining the upper and sometimes the lower lip, in or
between the scales. Those of the pitvipers are the more advanced, having a suspended sensory
membrane as opposed to a simple pit structure. Within the family Viperidae, the pit organ is seen only in
the subfamily Crotalinae: the pitvipers. The organ is used extensively to detect and
target endothermic prey such as rodents and birds, and it was previously assumed that the organ evolved
specifically for that purpose. However, recent evidence shows that the pit organ may also be used for
thermoregulation. According to Krochmal et al., pitvipers can use their pits for thermoregulatory decision
making while true vipers (vipers who do not contain heat-sensing pits) cannot.

In spite of its detection of IR light, the pits' IR detection mechanism is not similar to photoreceptors –
while photoreceptors detect light via photochemical reactions, the protein in the pits of snakes is in fact a
temperature sensitive ion channel. It senses infrared signals through a mechanism involving warming of
the pit organ, rather than chemical reaction to light.[64] This is consistent with the thin pit membrane,
which allows incoming IR radiation to quickly and precisely warm a given ion channel and trigger a nerve
impulse, as well as vascularize the pit membrane in order to rapidly cool the ion channel back to its
original "resting" or "inactive" temperature.[64]

Other[edit]

Pressure detection uses the organ of Weber, a system consisting of three appendages of vertebrae
transferring changes in shape of the gas bladder to the middle ear. It can be used to regulate the
buoyancy of the fish. Fish like the weather fish and other loaches are also known to respond to low
pressure areas but they lack a swim bladder.

Current detection is a detection system of water currents, consisting mostly of vortices, found in
the lateral line of fish and aquatic forms of amphibians. The lateral line is also sensitive to low-frequency
vibrations. The mechanoreceptors are hair cells, the same mechanoreceptors for vestibular sense and
hearing. It is used primarily for navigation, hunting, and schooling. The receptors of the electrical
sense are modified hair cells of the lateral line system.

Polarized light direction/detection is used by bees to orient themselves, especially on cloudy

days. Cuttlefish, some beetles, and mantis shrimp can also perceive the polarization of light. Most sighted
humans can in fact learn to roughly detect large areas of polarization by an effect called Haidinger's
brush, however this is considered an entoptic phenomenon rather than a separate sense.
Slit sensillae of spiders detect mechanical strain in the exoskeleton, providing information on force and
vibrations.

Plant senses[edit]
By using a variety of sense receptors, plants sense light, gravity, temperature, humidity, chemical
substances, chemical gradients, reorientation, magnetic fields, infections, tissue damage and mechanical
pressure. The absence of a nervous system notwithstanding, plants interpret and respond to these
stimuli by a variety of hormonal and cell-to-cell communication pathways that result in movement,
morphological changes and physiological state alterations at the organism level, that is, result in plant
behavior. Such physiological and cognitive functions are generally not believed to give rise to mental
phenomena or qualia, however, as these are typically considered the product of nervous system activity.
The emergence of mental phenomena from the activity of systems functionally or computationally
analogous to that of nervous systems is, however, a hypothetical possibility explored by some schools of
thought in the philosophy of mind field, such as functionalism and computationalism.

Culture[edit]

Further information: Five wits, Ṣaḍāyatana, Ayatana, and Indriya

Lairesse's Allegory of the Five Senses

In the time of William Shakespeare, there were commonly reckoned to be five wits or five senses.[65] At
that time, the words "sense" and "wit" were synonyms,[65] so the senses were known as the five outward
wits.[66][67] This traditional concept of five senses is common today.

The traditional five senses are enumerated as the "five material faculties" (pañcannaṃ indriyānaṃ
avakanti) in Hindu literature. They appear in allegorical representation as early as in the Katha
Upanishad (roughly 6th century BC), as five horses drawing the "chariot" of the body, guided by the mind
as "chariot driver".

Depictions of the five traditional senses as allegory became a popular subject for seventeenth-century
artists, especially among Dutch and Flemish Baroque painters. A typical example is Gérard de
Lairesse's Allegory of the Five Senses (1668), in which each of the figures in the main group alludes to a
sense: Sight is the reclining boy with a convex mirror, hearing is the cupid-like boy with a triangle, smell is
represented by the girl with flowers, taste is represented by the woman with the fruit, and touch is
represented by the woman holding the bird.

Sensory loss
Many types of sense loss occur due to a dysfunctional sensation process, whether it be
ineffective receptors, nerve damage, or cerebral impairment. Unlike agnosia, these impairments are
due to damages prior to the perception process.

Vision loss[edit]

Main article: Vision loss

Degrees of vision loss vary dramatically, although the ICD-9 released in 1979 categorized them into
three tiers: normal vision, low vision, and blindness. Two significant causes of vision loss due to
sensory failures include media opacity and optic nerve diseases, although hypoxia and retinal
disease can also lead to blindness. Most causes of vision loss can cause varying degrees of damage,
from total blindness to a negligible effect. Media opacity occurs in the presence of opacities in the
eye tissues or fluid, distorting and/or blocking the image prior to contact with the photoreceptor
cells. Vision loss often results despite correctly functioning retinal receptors. Optic nerve diseases
such as optic neuritis or retrobulbar neuritis lead to dysfunction in the afferent nerve pathway once
the signal has been correctly transmitted from retinal photoreceptors.

Partial or total vision loss may affect every single area of a person's life. Though loss of eyesight may
occur naturally as we age, trauma to the eye or exposure to hazardous conditions may also cause
this serious condition. Workers in virtually any field may be at risk of sustaining eye injuries through
trauma or exposure. A traumatic eye injury occurs when the eye itself sustains some form of trauma,
whether a penetrating injury such as a laceration or a non-penetrating injury such as an impact.
Because the eye is a delicate and complex organ, even a slight injury may have a temporary or
permanent effect on eyesight.

Hearing loss[edit]

Main article: Hearing loss

Similarly to vision loss, hearing loss can vary from full or partial inability to detect some or
all frequencies of sound which can typically be heard by members of their species. For humans, this
range is approximately 20 Hz to 20 kHz at ~6.5 dB, although a 10 dB correction is often allowed for
the elderly.[1] Primary causes of hearing loss due to an impaired sensory system include long-term
exposure to environmental noise, which can damage the mechanoreceptors responsible for
receiving sound vibrations, as well as multiple diseases, such as CMV or meningitis, which damage
the cochlea and auditory nerve, respectively.[2]

Hearing loss may be gradual or sudden. Hearing loss may be very mild, resulting in minor difficulties
with conversation, or as severe as complete deafness. The speed with which hearing loss occurs may
give clues as to the cause. If hearing loss is sudden, it may be from trauma or a problem with blood
circulation. A gradual onset is suggestive of other causes such as aging or a tumor. If you also have
other associated neurological problems, such as tinnitus or vertigo, it may indicate a problem with
the nerves in the ear or brain. Hearing loss may be unilateral or bilateral. Unilateral hearing loss is
most often associated with conductive causes, trauma, and acoustic neuromas. Pain in the ear is
associated with ear infections, trauma, and obstruction in the canal.

Anosmia[edit]

Main article: Anosmia

Anosmia is the inability to perceive odor, or in other words a lack of functioning olfaction. Many
patients may experience unilateral or bilateral anosmia.
A temporary loss of smell can be caused by a blocked nose or infection. In contrast, a permanent loss
of smell may be caused by death of olfactory receptor neurons in the nose or by brain injury in which
there is damage to the olfactory nerve or damage to brain areas that process smell. The lack of the
sense of smell at birth, usually due to genetic factors, is referred to as congenital anosmia.

The diagnosis of anosmia as well as the degree of impairment can now be tested much more
efficiently and effectively than ever before thanks to "smell testing kits" that have been made
available as well as screening tests which use materials that most clinics would readily have.[3]

Many cases of congenital anosmia remain unreported and undiagnosed. Since the disorder is
present from birth the individual may have little or no understanding of the sense of smell, hence
are unaware of the deficit.[4]

Somatosensory loss[edit]

The somatosensory system is a complex sensory system made up of a number of different receptors,
including thermoreceptors, nociceptors, mechanoreceptors and chemoreceptors. It also comprises
essential processing centres, or sensory modalities, such as proprioception, touch, temperature, and
nociception. The sensory receptors cover the skin and epithelia, skeletal muscles, bones and joints,
internal organs, and the cardiovascular system.

While touch (also called tactile or tactual perception) is considered one of the five traditional senses,
the impression of touch is formed from several modalities. In medicine, the colloquial term "touch"
is usually replaced with "somatic senses" to better reflect the variety of mechanisms involved.

Insensitivity to somatosensory stimuli, such as heat, cold, touch, and pain, are most commonly a
result of a more general physical impairment associated with paralysis. Damage to the spinal cord or
other major nerve fiber may lead to a termination of both afferent and efferent signals to varying
areas of the body, causing both a loss of touch and a loss of motor coordination. Other types of
somatosensory loss include hereditary sensory and autonomic neuropathy, which consists of
ineffective afferent neurons with fully functioning efferent neurons; essentially, motor movement
without somatosensation.[5] Sensory loss can occur due to a minor nick or lesion on the spinal cord
which creates a problem within the neurosystem. This can lead to loss of smell, taste, touch, sight,
and hearing. In most cases it often leads to issues with touch. Sometimes people cannot feel touch
at all while other times a light finger tap feels like someone has punched them. There are
medications and therapies[example needed] that can help control the symptoms of sensory loss and
deprivation.

Ageusia[edit]

Main article: Ageusia

Ageusia is the loss of taste, particularly the inability to

detect sweetness, sourness, bitterness, saltiness, and umami (meaning "pleasant/savory taste"). It is
sometimes confused with anosmia (a loss of the sense of smell). Because the tongue can only
indicate texture and differentiate between sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and umami, most of what is
perceived as the sense of taste is actually derived from smell. True ageusia is relatively rare
compared to hypogeusia (a partial loss of taste) and dysgeusia (a distortion or alteration of taste).

Tissue damage to the nerves that support the tongue can cause ageusia, especially damage to
the lingual nerve and the glossopharyngeal nerve. The lingual nerve passes taste for the front two-
thirds of the tongue and the glossopharyngeal nerve passes taste for the back third of the tongue.
The lingual nerve can also be damaged during otologic surgery, causing a feeling of metal taste.

Taste loss can vary from true ageusia, a complete loss of taste, to hypogeusia, a partial loss of taste,
to dysgeusia, a distortion or alteration of taste. The primary cause of ageusia involves damage to
the lingual nerve, which receives the stimuli from taste buds for the front two-thirds of the tongue,
or the glossopharyngeal nerve, which acts similarly for the back third. Damage may be due to
neurological disorders, such as Bell’s palsy or multiple sclerosis, as well as infectious diseases such as
meningoencephalopathy. Other causes include a vitamin B deficiency, as well as taste bud death due
to acidic/spicy foods, radiation, and/or tobacco use.[6]

Does Losing One Sense Improve the Others?

Have you ever heard of the Netflix series Daredevil? Or perhaps you
remember reading about that legendary comic book hero when you were
a child?
Well, the premise of Daredevil’s remarkable story is quite simple; Matt
Murdoch was blinded as a young boy in a chemical accident, and has
learned to survive in the brutal world of Hell’s Kitchen without that vital
sense. The superhero side of his story comes from his incredible abilities
with his other senses, including hearing, smell, and touch. To fight crime
in the underbelly of that corrupt city, he uses something akin to
echolocation, diving off buildings, reading wind currents, listening to
voices from blocks away, and identifying people by smell.
As awe-inspiring as Daredevil’s life happens to be in the movies, does that
sort of advanced ability have any basis in real life? In other words, if you
lose one of your senses, do the other ones get better to compensate?

The Five Senses… What Are They?

Well, we all know what the five senses that we humans possess – sight,
smell, taste, touch, and hearing – but where do these miraculous powers
come from? Well, that will require a bit of digging – into our brains!
The human brain is traditionally divided into six main areas: the frontal,
parietal, occipital, temporal, limbic lobes, and the insular cortex. Our
senses of smell and sound are controlled by the temporal lobe, while
sight is handled by the occipital lobe. Taste is closely related to smell, and
are also affected by the olfactory nerves, while touch is generally
detected and processed by the parietal lobe. Other sections of the brain
also impact our senses, such as processing visual cues (temporal lobe)
and registering pain from touch (insular cortex).

Now, the most common senses that are “lost” are sight and sound, and
these are more specifically controlled by the visual and auditory cortex,
respectively. It is possible to lose the senses of taste, smell, and touch,
but these are much less common.
When we are born, it is important to understand that our brain is still
developing, and most of the processing powers are combined. It is only as
we grow up that the individual senses begin to be controlled by
independent sensory sectors. The beautiful thing about the brain is its
plasticity, and studies have shown that the brains of blind infants don’t
separate into those individual sections, allowing the visual and auditory
cortexes to “team up” and heighten the sensitivity of hearing.

Our Brain…the Flexible Supercomputer

The human brain is essentially a computer, so we can easily talk about it
in terms of processing power. If you lose your sense of sight, for example,
the brain will rely on other information sources to make sense of the
world around you. Without the visual cortex functioning (blindness),
a 2005 study argued that it will actually decrease in size, while other
areas of the brain (auditory cortex and areas handling memories and
smell) will actually be larger! If you think that our brain doesn’t change
and evolve as we move through life – you’re wrong! Your brain is highly
adept at rewiring itself if it thinks it can function more efficiently.

If you lose a sense do the others get stronger?

Since you no longer need to use that part of the brain to process images,
more energy and processing power is shifted to the senses of hearing and
touch, which will improve your ability to move through the world. For
example, blind individuals often use a technique called “clicking”, in
which they make small clicking sounds and then interpret the echo they
hear to determine the environment around them. This echolocation
technique can even allow people to determine specific objects and walk
normally without bumping into walls or obstacles.
The heightened sense of hearing allows the brain to differentiate the
echoes that return after these clicks, a feat that seems impossible to
those of us who typically rely on vision. More impressively, brain scans of
blind individuals “clicking” reveals that the sounds are not only processed
by the auditory cortex, but also in the occipital lobe (visual cortex),
despite not being able to “see”.
Research has shown that a similar thing happens for those who are deaf,
although it was found that these individuals’ brains use the auditory
cortex to process touch and visual stimuli. Even though the individual can
no longer hear, the auditory part of the brain is still useful as a
“computer” component, so it contributes its processing power to the
other senses, heightening them in a measurable way!

Smell, Taste and Touch Powers?

Taste and smell are largely controlled by the olfactory nerves, which
makes them slightly unusual for our senses. Also, olfactory nerves are the
only known parts of the nervous system to regrow after being damaged,
so there isn’t as much of a brain-shifting effort if those senses are
damaged somehow. Essentially, the body and brain will attempt to fix
these senses, rather than compensate for them in another way or in
another cortex.

Touch is the final sense, and one that is very difficult to “lose”. However,
in terms of improving the sense of touch, blind individuals have reported
that their sense of touch improved (particularly in terms of environmental
stimuli), so they were able to avoid walls and windows based on the
different temperature changes in those areas.
What About That Sixth Sense? Or a Seventh?
Some people argue that humans aren’t limited to the traditional five
senses, and can harness abilities like magnetoception (detection of
magnetic fields), as well as more normal skills that we take for granted
(the ability to stay balanced and upright, detecting the passage of time,
unconscious awareness of where our body parts are, and some of those
images shown below).
Although these are less commonly researched subjects in relation to the
brain, it has been shown that these abilities are also heightened when we
lose one of our “Big 5” Senses.
In other words, when you watch Daredevil flipping through the streets of
Hell’s Kitchen, perhaps it isn’t so impossible! Although blind people
leaping across rooftops, balancing on narrow railings and sniffing out bad
guys from around the corner might be a bit of a stretch, solid research
has shown that it is far from impossible.
The brain is a miraculous and mysterious machine, and we are still
learning more about it every day. ---a
Anthropometrics in architectural design
Anthropometrics is the comparative study of the measurements and capabilities of the human body. It derives
from the Greek words 'anthropos' (meaning human), and 'metron' (meaning measure).

Anthropometry influences a wide range of industries, processes, services and products and has a considerable
importance in optimising the design of buildings.

Human dimensions and capabilities are paramount in determining a building's dimensions and overall design.
The underlying principle of anthropometrics is that building designs should adapt to suit the human body,
rather than people having to adapt to suit the buildings.

There are two basic areas of anthropometry:

Static anthropometry is the measurement of body sizes at rest and when using devices such as chairs, tables,
beds, mobility devices, and so on.

Functional anthropometry is the measurement of abilities related to the completion of tasks, such as reaching,
maneuvering and motion, and other aspects of space and equipment use.

The use of anthropometrics in building design aims to ensure that every person is as comfortable as possible.
In practical terms, this means that the dimensions must be appropriate, ceilings high enough, doorways and
hallways wide enough, and so on. In recent times, it has come to have particular significance for workplace
design, and the relationship between desk, chair, keyboard and computer display.

The building regulations provide a range of standard requirements and approved solutions for designers to
help develop suitable designs. However, it is important to consider the specific purpose and requirements of
end users. Attempts to apply standardised dimensions may not reflect the true need of the space
requirements.

Older people, children, people with mobility issues, wheelchair users and so on may have specific
requirements. In particular, good accessibility and easy manoeuvrability around the building must be
considered when designing stairs, lifts, ramps and other features. See Accessibility in the built environment for
more information.

Anthropometry may also impact on space requirements for furniture and fittings. For example, a bathroom
must have enough space to comfortably fit a bath and sink; a bedroom must have enough space to
comfortably fit an average-sized bed; an office building must have enough space to fit desks, air-conditioning
units, communal areas, meeting rooms, and so on.

Anthropometric data is regularly updated to reflect changes in the population.

https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Anthropometrics_in_architectural_design

Basic Anthropometric Data and Ergonomic Data

Basic anthropometric and ergonomic data for interior designers and
decorators.

Anthropometry is the scientific study and measuremeant of the human body.

Ergonomics is the science of the relationship between man and machinery and the equipment
human beings use, and the working environment. Having something that is called ergonomic means
that the item has been designed to maximize productivity by minimizing effort and discomfort.

The diagrams on the following page describe the basic and average sizes (based on 90 percentile) of
human beings performing various functions and movements.
These are here as a tool for interior designers to aid working out how high or how far an average
male or female may reach in relative comfort.

These are factors that need to be considered when designing joinery or cabinetry, furniture,
planning circulation spaces, work spaces, accessible spaces and to generally make the user
comfortable in their interior environment.

Please note that all these measurements are in millimeters and are based on the authors experience
and common industry standards.

Official confirmation if required should be obtained from your Ministry of Health or similar
governing body of your country.

Diagram 1 depicts the average heights and widths of various parts of the body face on. Use this in
relation to joinery and space planning.

Diagram 2 depicts the average maximum distance of outstretched arms. This may be used when
planning a small bathroom and the distance need for drying ones self.
Diagram 3 depicts the various heights and lengths of parts of the body with the legs bent as for
sitting or climbing. Relate this to chairs and tables.

Diagram 4 depicts the reach of forward outstretched arms. Reference to this is important with
cupboards and shelves over benches and to windows behind furniture.
Diagram 5 depicts the maximum reach (flat footed) straight up. This can be referred to for the
maximum height of close shelves or cupboards while also considering the angle.

Diagram 6 depicts the height of the forearm when standing and bent at right angles. This is useful for
determining the heights of work surfaces.

Diagram 7 depicts the height of a person when kneeling or crouching down. You can determine
minimum heights of shelving or basic reach.
Diagram 8 depicts the height of a medium use workbench. It also shows space allocated for the front
of the foot to fit under the bench.

Diagram 9 depicts a person sitting at a table. The height of the chair and table are shown in relation
to the body.
Diagrams 10 and 11 depict heights and widths of shelves showing the reach required and also the
eye line.

Diagram 12 depicts a person in sitting position showing the base of the bent forearm to the seat
height for armrests, the thickness of the thigh and the height from the base of the thigh to the floor
for clearance under tables.

Diagram 13 shows where the eyes height in relation to the floor. Use this to determine placing of
items such as switching or signage.
Diagram 14 depicts the length of the legs and body combined when sitting on the floor or bed. Use
this to help determine leg room.

https://prointeriordesigner.com/design-tools/anthropometric-data/
Ergonomics is the science of making the work environment safer and more comfortable for workers using design and
anthropometric data. It is basically a user-centered approach that
FIGURE 5.13 Anthropometric data—kitchen clearance dimensions. (From De Chiara, Joseph, Panero, Julius, Time-Saver
Standards for Interior Design and Space Planning, McGraw-Hill, New York, 2001)
A. Round Tjbl* Dimf nfionf B HivrjiiEiiilirTjblie [iimfFifionf

FIGURE 5.14 Minimum dimensions needed for dining. (From Ballast, David K., Interior Design Reference Manual,
Professional Publications, Inc., Belmont, California, 1998)

A. Round Tjbl* Dimf nfionf B HivrjiiEiiilirTjblie [iimfFifionf

FIGURE 5.14 Minimum dimensions needed for dining. (From Ballast, David K., Interior Design Reference Manual,
Professional Publications, Inc., Belmont, California, 1998)

aims to ensure that people's capabilities and limitations are taken into account, and to fit the workplace to the worker,
rather than vice versa. Ergonomics also studies the relation between human physiology and the physical environment,
emphasizing the importance of the interaction of all component parts, which is why it is sometimes called Human Factors.
Ergonomics uses the information developed by anthropometrics, and then applies it in studying how humans interact with
physical objects like chairs, tables, control panels, and the like, to ensure that the product is fit for use by the target users.
As the American workforce continues to get older, ergonomic needs become even more critical. David Gilmore et al make
the point that human factors research requires:

1. Demands together with the technological requirements.

2. The boundaries between which issues are defined as "technical" and "organizational" are not fixed and need to be
negotiated.

3. New applications of technology should be seen as the development of permanent support systems and not one-off
products which finishes with implementation (i.e. the way in which technological change alters the organization needs to
be considered).
FIGURE 5.15 Anthropometric data relating to the 5th and 95th percentiles for men and women. (From De Chiara, Joseph,
Panero, Julius, Time-Saver Standards for Interior Design and Space Planning, McGraw-Hill, New York, 2001)

FIGURE 5.16 A. Persons of smaller body dimensions and therefore, within the lower-range percentile data should be used
to determine dimensions where reach is the determining factor. B. For larger-size persons, the high percentile range data
should be used in establishing clearance dimensions. (From De Chiara, Joseph, Panero, Julius, Time-Saver Standards for
Interior Design and Space Planning, McGraw-Hill, New York, 2001)

FIGURE 5.16 A. Persons of smaller body dimensions and therefore, within the lower-range percentile data should be used
to determine dimensions where reach is the determining factor. B. For larger-size persons, the high percentile range data
should be used in establishing clearance dimensions. (From De Chiara, Joseph, Panero, Julius, Time-Saver Standards for
Interior Design and Space Planning, McGraw-Hill, New York, 2001)

Humans should be seen as the most important facets of an information systems and should be "designed in."

The people context of information systems must be studied and understood for it is clear that dimensions such as gender,
race, class, power affect people's behavior with respect to technologies. Design by doing, user participative design.
Recently promulgated ergonomic regulations and standards by the U.S. Government's Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA) are designed to significantly impact workplace injury awareness and safety. The main objective for
the standards, which took

FIGURE 5.17 A. Establishing dimensions where reach is the determining factor, people of smaller body dimensions and,
correspondingly, the lower range percentile data should be used. B. Establishing clearance dimensions, larger-size people
and correspondingly, the high percentile range data should be used. (From De Chiara, Joseph, Panero, Julius, Time-Saver
Standards for Interior Design and Space Planning, McGraw-Hill, New York, 2001)

FIGURE 5.17 A. Establishing dimensions where reach is the determining factor, people of smaller body dimensions and,
correspondingly, the lower range percentile data should be used. B. Establishing clearance dimensions, larger-size people
and correspondingly, the high percentile range data should be used. (From De Chiara, Joseph, Panero, Julius, Time-Saver
Standards for Interior Design and Space Planning, McGraw-Hill, New York, 2001)

effect January 16, 2001, is to regulate work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) ranging from lifting, pulling and
pushing to computer keyboarding and mousing. MSD is the term used to describe a variety of physical conditions including
back pain, neck tension and carpal tunnel syndrome. Judy Leese, senior ergonomic program manager at Herman Miller
says that, "Although OSHA has not set specific standards for office workstations, assembly lines and other work areas, the
new rules take affect whenever injuries can be connected to the workplace." Several leading office furniture
manufacturers, like Herman Miller and Haworth, market ergo-

nomically oriented products including seating, height-adjustable tables and other computer support products and
accessories.

The issue of proper posture by computer users is not complex, nor difficult to achieve. The feet should rest flat on the
floor, with the knees bent at a 90 degree angle. The upper body should be bent 90 degrees relative to thighs. Hands on the
keyboard should form a straight horizontal line from the wrists to the elbows, which in turn should be bent 90 degrees
relative to the upper arms. In the sitting position, the top of the computer monitor should be roughly 15 degrees below eye
level, and at a distance approximately twice the width of the screen. Thus, if a 15-inch cathode ray tube monitor is about
11 inches wide in viewable area, the required distance is 22 inches (Figure 5.17).

The reality is that cost and its justification has always been a major factor in the decision on whether to proceed or not
with ergonomic improvements to the work environment. It should be noted that the cost of correcting ergonomic design
at the initial part of a design project is estimated to be approximately 10 percent of the cost that will be incurred later.
Moreover, the steps involved in the cost justification process should be an integral part of the design process, and are:
• Predicting potential injuries/illness. This requires monitoring and reviewing past medical records/OSHA logs to look for
patterns and to determine how many MSDs occurred over the last year or years.

• Estimating the full cost of an injury/illness. Again this may not be straightforward and means tracking medical expenses,
workers' compensation, and other indirect costs such as productivity loss.

• Achieving the appropriate ergonomic solution and estimating its cost. There are several approaches to determine the
cost effectiveness of a solution, but one of the more popular methods used by ergonomists is the cost/value matrix, which
fundamentally compares the cost of the solution with the effectiveness of the solution, based on their empirical and
professional experience.

• Choosing the appropriate cost justification technique. The three techniques that are most often used to cost justify
ergonomic changes in the work environment are based on: 1. Benefit/Cost Ratio (comparing the cost of ergonomic-related
injuries to the cost of implementing the ergonomic solution), 2. Payback Period (the length of time it will take to recover
the costs of improvements), and 3. Losses vs. Goods Sold (the sales volume that is needed to offset the cost of an injury;
this provides a dollar figure that the firm should be willing to spend to implement an ergonomics solution).

• Performing the calculations to evaluate the value of the benefits and costs over the life of the project, taking into
consideration the reduced liability risks the company will enjoy by addressing the ergonomic issues.

• The final step in the process is the analysis of the above data and making a recommendation.

Dr. Teresa Bellingar, corporate ergonomist at Haworth, Inc. says that, "Until companies start realizing what affect
ergonomic-related injuries have on the bottom line, it will remain difficult for some companies to justify spending money
to make changes in the work environmenteven if they believe it's the correct thing to do."

https://www.northernarchitecture.us/interior-design-2/ergonomics.html

Ergonomic guidance
When designing a space or wearables for humans, you’ll need precise measurements of our size.
How high to put a door knob, the circumference of our necks, how far we can reach overhead?
There’s no such thing as an average person, so you’ll also need to know what the variances are, too.
There’s a number of good sources for this data, but the most complete set, with the greatest clarity,
and most affordable price is Human Dimensions. This data set was distilled from ergonomic research
started by NASA for designing space capsules and broadened over the years to include the
ergonomics of wheelchairs and crutches, bathtubs, workplaces and public spaces among many other
everyday situations. I prefer its very graphic presentation. Good for architects, costume designers,
gadget makers, interface designers, and interior decorators.

-- KK 01/25/13

Excerpt
Figure 1-4. The human body and the Golden Section

*
*

*
*
Adapted from Human Factors Engineering, U.S. Air Force Systems Command Handbook, DH1-3, P.
DN2B11, 19.

https://kk.org/cooltools/human-dimension-interior-space/