Sensatsioon

Sensatsioon is a term used in psychology and physiology to describe the basic sensory experience that arises from stimulation of sensory receptors. It represents the initial encoding of external or internal stimuli into neural signals, before any interpretation or meaning is added by the brain. Sensations are modality-specific, encompassing vision, hearing, touch, taste, smell, and proprioception. The process of transforming stimuli into neural signals is called transduction. Researchers distinguish sensations from perception, which is the cognitive interpretation and integration of sensory input within memory, attention, and expectation.

In scientific contexts, concepts such as the absolute threshold (the minimum stimulus intensity detectable) and the difference threshold or just noticeable difference (the smallest detectable change in stimulus) are used to describe sensory phenomena. Sensation is also studied with respect to adaptation, signal detection theory, and the ways in which organisms detect signals in the presence of noise.

In Estonian usage, sensatsioon commonly refers to the physiological sense described above. The word is also used more broadly in media and everyday language to denote something remarkable or startling, i.e., a sensational event or story. In journalism and popular discourse, sensatsiooniline describes content intended to provoke strong emotions or curiosity, sometimes with a critical undertone regarding sensationalism.

See also: sensation (psychology), perception, transduction, sensory threshold, sensationalism.