The 10 senses you never knew you had

The five classic human senses get all of the attention, so it might surprise you to know that there are several more senses working quietly in the background. Take something as simple as sitting down to eat your dinner. All five senses are active, taking in the sight and smell of the food on your plate, the taste and feel as you put it into your mouth, and the sound as you chew, but without your other senses, the experience would not be the same.

The simple act of sitting at the table and getting the food from the plate to your mouth is a sensory feat. You can’t keep an eye on your limbs all the time, so the positions of your joints and the tension on your muscles is constantly measured, enabling you to eat without having to closely watch what you are doing. In order to stay balanced as you reach across the table, sensory information is quietly gathered by specialist structures in the inner ear.

Once the food is inside your mouth, one set of sensors provide information about the temperature, and another set of specialist nerves called nociceptors quickly alert you if the mouthful is dangerously hot or cold. At the same time, your blood and the fluid surrounding your central nervous system are monitored to make sure that levels of carbon dioxide and oxygen remain within normal limits, and your breathing rate is subconsciously adjusted.

As your stomach starts to fill up, stretch sensors feed back to the brain, turning down the signals that are telling you to keep eating, and when the part-digested food starts to hit your small intestine, sensors trigger the production of a hormone that flicks the switch telling you that you have had enough. The build-up of waste products is also closely monitored, and long after your meal is completed, sensors will alert you when it is time to get rid of anything that is left over.

So while the traditional five senses are the ones that we rely on most in our conscious interactions with the world around us, there are several more that work quietly in the background as we go about our daily lives.

Balance (equilibrioception)

The sense of balance

The sense of balance

Our sense of balance is handled by the vestibular system in the inner ear, and provides vital feedback about head position and movement. Inside the ear there are three semicircular canals; each is filled with fluid. At one end of each canal is a bulge supporting a series of sensitive hairs. As you move your head, the fluid moves too, bending the tiny hairs and sending information about head rotation to the brain. There are also two organs called otoliths on each side of the head. These contain sensory hairs weighed down by calcium crystals that help to tell which way is up.

Movement (proprioception)

The sense of movement

The sense of movement

Even the simplest movements would be a challenge without this sense; proprioception allows us to keep track of the position of our bodies in space without looking. This enables us to make the tiny adjustments that keep us from falling over when we are standing still, helps us to judge the distance each time we take a step, and allows us to coordinate complex movements like riding a bike or playing the piano. The receptors responsible are found in the joints, muscles and skin, and help to relay information about the angle and position of each joint, and the tension on our tendons and muscles, providing the brain with constant feedback.

Pain (nociception)

The sense of pain

The sense of pain

Specialised nerve endings called nociceptors are found in the skin and organs. Unlike normal sensory nerves, these are not activated by low-level stimulation, and instead wait until the temperature, pressure or level of a toxic substance is enough to cause the body harm. Activation of these nerves can trigger a swift withdrawal reflex, prompting us to move away from the harmful stimulus, and in the long term it acts as a deterrent, teaching us to avoid whatever it was that caused the unpleasant sensation in the first place. The ability to sense damaging stimuli is different from the feeling of pain, and the sensation that we are all familiar with involves a significant amount of further processing in the brain.

Time (Chronoception)

The sense of time

The sense of time

Even without a watch, we have a sense of the passage of time, but our body clock is not like any normal timepiece. The suprachiasmatic nucleus in the brain is the master clock, and it governs our daily cycle, or circadian rhythm. This 24-hour clock controls daily peaks and troughs in our hormone levels, influencing many behaviours, from eating to sleeping. For shorter tasks, scientists think that we might have several internal stopwatches keeping time inside our brains. As yet, the parts of the brain responsible for keeping these rhythms have not been discovered.

Temperature (thermoception)

The sense of temperature

The sense of temperature

It is crucial for our bodies to be able to detect heat and cold, firstly to ensure that our internal organs are kept at the right temperature to function properly, and secondly to prevent us being damaged by extremes. We are able to detect the temperature of our extremities by a series of nerves in the skin, while our core body temperature is monitored by a part of the brain known as the hypothalamus.

As warm-blooded animals, we generate huge amounts of heat as we burn sugars to release energy. This helps to keep us warm, but in order to maintain a constant temperature, adjustments need to be made continually to make up for changes in the environment or changes in our level of activity. For immediate changes in body temperature, the brain orders the body to shiver or sweat, and for more long-term regulation, the production of thyroid hormone is ramped up or down, altering the rate at which we burn sugars and generate heat.

Itchiness

The sense of itchiness

The sense of itchiness

Itchiness is the body’s way of alerting us to parasites and irritants. It prompts a reflex scratch response, which scientists think is to draw our attention to that area of the body so any irritant can be eliminated. The exact science of itching is still unclear, but one of the most well studied culprits is a molecule known as histamine. Parasites like biting insects and worms often produce chemicals known as proteases, which help them to break through the barrier of the skin. These proteases trigger white blood cells to release histamine, which in turn activates our body’s itch-sensitive nerve cells.

Thirst

The sense of thirst

The sense of thirst

The ability to detect when we need to drink is crucial for survival. When we don’t have enough water, the salts, sugars and proteins inside our bodies become more concentrated, and function starts to decline. Minute changes in water level are detected by special cells in the brain called osmoreceptors, triggering the feeling of thirst. To prevent further water loss, the body releases a hormone known as vasopressin, which acts on the kidneys to stop water being excreted as urine. A hormone called angiotensin is also produced, making
which make you feel hungry; and anorexigens, which make you feel full. The hypothalamus decides which molecules to the blood vessels constrict and raising the blood pressure to compensate for the lack of water until more arrives.

Breathing

The sense of breathing

The sense of breathing

Breathing is controlled by the respiratory centres in the brain. Sensors in this area, along with sensors in the carotid artery and the aorta, detect the levels of gases in the blood and in the fluid that surrounds the brain. The carbon dioxide level is more important than the oxygen level, as a build up of this waste gas is what makes you feel breathless.

Hunger and fullness

The sense of hunger

The sense of hunger

The feeling of hunger is controlled by a part of the brain called the hypothalamus. It produces two types of molecules: orexigens, which make you feel hungry; and anorexigens, which make you feel full. The hypothalamus decides which molecules to produce based on information sent by the digestive system. When you haven’t eaten for a while, the top part of the stomach starts to produce a molecule called ghrelin, signalling to the hypothalamus that you need to take in more food. After a meal, stretch receptors in your stomach help to signal that you are full, and when fat and protein start to enter the first part of the small intestine, a molecule called cholecystokinin (CCK) helps to switch the hungry feeling off.

Excretion

The sense of excretion

The sense of excretion

It is vital to remove waste products from the body before they start to build up, and there are several internal systems responsible for sensing, processing, and removing waste. Some leave via the lungs, some via the back passage, and some via the bladder.

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