Odds & Ends
The Vestibular Sense The sense responsible for maintaining balance. Enables us to walk on two feet, keep our head upright, and adjust our eye movements to compensate for our head movements. Phillippe Petit
Motion Sickness Feelings of dizziness and nausea; occur when the body is moved passively without motor activity and corresponding feedback to the brain. Two types of motion sickness: Detects movements but motor actions that could have produced the movement have not occurred Detects movement inconsistent with the information about movement sensed by the eyes
The Somatosenses The skin sensations of touch, pain, temperature. The functions of the skin include: protecting the internal organs from injury helping regulate body temperature by producing sweat, which cools the body when it becomes too hot providing a first line of defense against invading microorganisms.
Skin Receptors
Skin Receptors:Glabrous Skin
The Experience and Control of Pain Pain has both negative and positive functions: Chronic pain can be the bane of a person’s existence. However, under ordinary circumstances, pain is extremely useful, warning us of potential injury and inducing us to seek appropriate treatment.
Theories of Pain Melzack & Wall (1965) Melzak (1999) Gate-control theory of pain - Input from pain receptors will produce the perception of pain only if the message first passes through a “gate” in the spinal cord and lower brain stem structures. Melzak (1999) Neuromatrix theory of pain – accounts for types of pain unexplained by the gate-control theory of pain.
Gate-Control Theory of Pain
The Chemical Senses Chemical senses include the gustatory and olfactory systems. Both are intermingled in our eating experiences, in that much of what we report as the taste of food actually comes from its odor. Flavor - Touch plays a role – crisp/soggy, mushy And visual cues – green, slimy Also temperature – cold eggs, warm milk
Taste and Smell
Genetics of Taste People differ in their sensitivity to bitter and some sweet tastes. These individual differences appear to be partly related to the number of taste buds on the tongue: Supertasters (25% of people) have the most taste buds - about 425 per square cm on the tongue tip. Medium tasters (50% of people) have about 184 taste buds per square cm. Non-tasters (25% of people) have about 96 per square cm.
Power Naps Just one 26 minute power nap can increase your cognitive skills by 40 percent Prime napping time falls in the middle of the day, between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
Power Naps Ben and Jerry’s British Airways Google Pizza Hut Proctor & Gamble Story