Hidden Senses Beyond Five Humans May Have 33 Senses And You Can Start Using Them Today
Growing up, most of us learned about the five senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. But it's time to rewrite the science textbooks – at least if one scientist has anything to do with it. Professor Barry Smith, Director of the Institute of Philosophy at the University of London, claims that humans don't just have five senses. Instead, he says there are anywhere between 22 and 33 senses. 'Aristotle told us there were five senses,' he explained in an article for The Conversation. 'But he also told us the world was made up of five elements and we no longer believe that. 'And modern research is showing we may actually have dozens of senses.' Scroll down for the full list of hidden senses – and how you can harness their powers. Professor Barry Smith's reasoning is that almost everything we do is multisensory. 'What we feel affects what we see and what we see affects what we hear,' he explained. 'Different odours in shampoo can affect how you perceive the texture of hair. 'The fragrance of rose makes hair seem silkier, for instance. 'Different odours in low–fat yogurts can make them feel richer and thicker on the palate without adding more emulsifiers. 'Perception of odours in the mouth, rising to the nasal passage, are modified by the viscosity of the liquids we consume.' While the exact number of senses humans have remains unclear, Professor Smith says it could be as many as 33. This includes proprioception (by which we know where our limbs are without looking at them) and interoception. Interoception operates through a network of neural pathways (artist's impression), deep within the body. For this reason, the researchers have dubbed it the 'hidden sixth sense' The sixth sense is known as 'interoception'. It helps us to feel and interpret internal signals that regulate vital functions in our bodies. This includes things like hunger, thirst, body temperature and heart rate. Problems with interoception are linked with a range of conditions, including autoimmune disorders, chronic pain, and high blood pressure – as well as mental health issues.
In This Article:
What We Feel Affects What We See and What We See Affects What We Hear
Interoception is an 'understudied process', by which your nervous system continuously receives and interprets your body's physiological signals to keep vital functions running smoothly. It helps to explain how your brain knows when to breathe, when your blood pressure drops, or when you're fighting an infection. Professor Smith also highlights 'gustation' – the sense when we taste something. 'When we taste something we are actually experiencing a combination of three senses: touch, smell and taste – or gustation – which combine to produce the flavours we perceive in food and drinks,' he said. 'Gustation covers sensations produced by receptors on the tongue that enable us to detect salt, sweet, sour, bitter and umami (savoury). What about mint, mango, melon, strawberry, raspberry?' 'We don’t have raspberry receptors on the tongue, nor is raspberry flavour some combination of sweet, sour and bitter. 'There is no taste arithmetic for fruit flavours. 'We perceive them through the combined workings of the tongue and the nose. It is smell that contributes the lion’s share to what we call tasting.' While this might all sound a bit overwhelming, Professor Smith hopes his idea will actually bring comfort to you. He concluded: 'There are always plenty of things around you to show how intricate your senses are, if you only pause for a moment to take it all in. 'So next time you walk outside or savour a meal, take a moment to appreciate how your senses are working together to help you feel all the sensations involved.'
Interoception The Hidden Sixth Sense
Interoception operates through a network of neural pathways (artist's impression), deep within the body. For this reason, the researchers have dubbed it the 'hidden sixth sense'. The sixth sense is known as 'interoception'. It helps us to feel and interpret internal signals that regulate vital functions in our bodies. This includes things like hunger, thirst, body temperature and heart rate. Problems with interoception are linked with a range of conditions, including autoimmune disorders, chronic pain, and high blood pressure – as well as mental health issues. Interoception is an understudied process by which your nervous system continuously receives and interprets your body's physiological signals to keep vital functions running smoothly.
Gustation The Taste Is a Symphony of Senses
'Gustation' – the sense when we taste something. 'When we taste something we are actually experiencing a combination of three senses: touch, smell and taste – or gustation – which combine to produce the flavours we perceive in food and drinks,' he said. 'Gustation covers sensations produced by receptors on the tongue that enable us to detect salt, sweet, sour, bitter and umami (savoury). What about mint, mango, melon, strawberry, raspberry?' 'We don’t have raspberry receptors on the tongue, nor is raspberry flavour some combination of sweet, sour and bitter.' 'There is no taste arithmetic for fruit flavours.' 'We perceive them through the combined workings of the tongue and the nose. It is smell that contributes the lion’s share to what we call tasting.'
