senseperception

Sense perception refers to the cognitive process by which organisms interpret sensory information to form representations of the external world. It encompasses both sensation, the receipt of stimuli by sensory organs, and interpretation by the brain. After sensory receptors transduce physical energy (light, sound waves, chemical molecules, mechanical pressure, temperature, etc.) into neural signals, these signals are relayed through dedicated pathways to the brain. For most senses, the thalamus acts as a central relay, with primary sensory cortices processing modality-specific information before higher-level association areas integrate it into coherent percepts.

Major sensory modalities include vision, hearing, taste, smell, tactile sensation, proprioception (body position), and vestibular sense (balance). Some modalities are extras: thermoception, nociception, interoception (sensing internal state).

Perception is shaped by both bottom-up processing of sensory data and top-down influences such as attention, expectations, prior knowledge, and context. Gestalt principles describe how people organize sensory input into unified wholes. Multisensory integration combines information from different modalities to form stable perceptions, often in parietal and superior temporal regions. Illusions reveal systematic discrepancies between sensory data and perceptual interpretation.

Developmentally, perceptual systems mature with exposure to environments; deficits may result in agnosias or sensory processing disorders. In philosophy and cognitive science, sense perception raises questions about the nature of reality, representation, and the reliability of perceptual experience.