TouchJon, Brittany, Ellen

Meg, & Alex

Position and Movement

2 systems keep track of body, position, movement and balance: Vestibular sense: body position and sense

with respect to gravity Ex: tells us when we are moving or how we are

positioned Kinesthetic sense: keeps track of body

parts relative to each other Ex: crossing your legs, tells you which hand is

closer to phone when it rings

Phantom Limb (Kinesthetic Sense)

Phantom limb: the illusion that a limb still exists after it is gone

Balance(Vestibular Senses)

Inner ear: the essential organ of hearing that includes the vestibule, the semicircular canals, and the cochlea Semicircular canal: three circular tubes in

ear that contain fluid and help sense balance Utricle: located in inner ear and uses small

stones and fluid to detect motion and orientation

People often have bad balance when they are sick

Skin Senses Sensory systems that process touch, warmth, cold,

texture, and pain Skin senses are connected to the somatosensory

cortex in the parietal lobes Sematosensory (sensory) cortex: processes

input from parts of the body that are sensitive to touch

Gate Control Theory

Gate-Control Theory explains that incoming signals can be blocked

How? Fast fibers deliver

sensory info to brain Slow fibers send

messages more slowly to brain

Messages compete, and block pain messages in slow fiber from reaching brain

Skin Senses Continued…

Cutaneous Sense: the process by which objects or forces are perceived through contact with the body

Different receptors on our skin help us perceive what goes on around us: Theromreceptor: the receptive portion of a sensory

neuron that responds to temperature Nocioreceptors: pain receptors for tissue injury Mechanoreceptors: sensory receptors in the skin that

respond to mechanical pressure and distortion Cutaneous Receptors: sensory receptors in the skin that

respond to pain and temperature

“You bit my finger, Charlie”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OBlgSz8sSM

Which receptor is responsible for the pain Charlie’s brother feels?

Pain

Pain: unpleasant sensation The threshold of pain varies

from person to person Acupuncture: procedure of

inserting needles in the body to relieve pain

Lamaze Method: psychological and physical preparation by a mother before childbirth that suppresses pain

People with congenital insensitivity to pain do not feel what is hurting them

Sense-Sational Facts

The skin is the largest organ in the body weighing 6-10 lbs.

Skin is least sensitive in the middle of your back

Skin is most sensitive in hands, fingertips, and lips

Works Cited

Davis, Stephen F., and Joseph Phalladino. Psychology. 4th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: n.p., 2004. 86-87. Print.

"Sense of Touch." Home Science Tools. N.p., 2010. Web. 11 Nov. 2010. <http://www.hometrainingtools.com/skin-touch/a/1388/>.

"Touch." Web. 11 Nov. 2010. <http://library.thinkquest.org/3750/touch/touch.html>.

Zimbardo, Philip G., Robert L. Johnson, Ann L. Weber, and Craig W. Gruber. Position and Movement. Print.