Sensorymystems

Sensorymystems refers to the collection of biological systems that detect, transduce, and interpret sensory information from the external and internal environment. The term encompasses multiple modalities and the neural circuits that convert physical or chemical stimuli into neural signals and higher-level perception. While often discussed as separate senses, these systems interact to produce a unified experience of the body and surroundings.

Key modalities include vision, hearing, smell, taste, and somatosensation, which covers touch, temperature, vibration, and proprioception. Additional systems in some species or contexts include vestibular sensing for balance and orientation, nociception for pain, thermoception, and, in certain animals, magnetoreception or chemical senses beyond the canonical five.

Activation begins at specialized receptors such as photoreceptors in the retina, hair cells in the inner ear, olfactory receptor neurons, and taste receptor cells. Receptor cells transduce stimuli into electrical signals that propagate through peripheral nerves to the brain. Visual information travels from the retina via the optic nerve to the visual thalamus and cortex; auditory information from the cochlea reaches the brain via brainstem nuclei and auditory pathways to the auditory cortex; olfactory signals route to the olfactory bulb and then to cortical areas; somatosensory signals pass through pathways like the dorsal column and spinothalamic tract to the somatosensory cortex.

The brain integrates inputs across modalities in multisensory areas such as the superior colliculus and association cortices. Processing involves attention, prediction, and memory, shaping perceptual experience. Sensory systems exhibit plasticity during development and learning, with changes in receptor sensitivity, synaptic strength, and cortical maps.

Knowledge of sensory systems informs clinical assessment and rehabilitation, including therapies for blindness or deafness, prosthetic devices like cochlear implants and retinal implants, and sensory substitution approaches. Researchers use electrophysiology, neuroimaging, psychophysics, and animal models to study transduction, pathways, and plasticity within Sensorymystems.