Describe the basic functions of the vestibular, proprioceptive, and kinesthetic sensory systems
You are eating a slice of pizza from your favorite pizza parlor. As you are experiencing the wonderful aroma and flavor of the pizza, you suddenly bite your tongue. Ouch! Careful not to drop the slice of pizza onto your lap, you are able to gently place it back onto the plate while you wait for the pain to subside.
Aside from taste and smell, there are other senses at play in this scenario. Can you identify some of them?
Some examples include: Touch – experiencing the pain of biting your tongue is made possible by the sense of touch.
Proprioception – knowing how to avoid dropping food onto your lap is made possible by the sense of proprioception, which focuses on the body’s cognitive awareness of movement. Kinesthesia – placing your slice of pizza back onto the plate is made possible by the sense of kinesthesia, which is a key component in muscle memory and hand-eye coordination. It is more behavioral than proprioception.
The pain you experienced when biting your tongue was made possible by nociceptors, but not all pain signals transduced by nociceptors signal real tissue damage. If you had been eating pizza sprinkled with hot chili flakes or hot peppers, your nociceptors would have been alerted to the chemical compound capsaicin in the chilies, creating the sensation of pain even though your body is not at risk. The nociceptor response to capsaicin can eventually lead to all sorts of physiological responses, such as increased heart rate, temperature, sweating, and adrenaline secretion.[1] Despite these physiological responses, many people around the world enjoy spicy food, and it is found in many cuisines.Watch the video below on “The Science of Spiciness” to learn more about what happens to the body when it encounters spicy foods.
According to Lecknes & Tracey (2008) eating tasty food, listening to good music, or feeling pleasant touch on your skin can decrease pain in both animals and humans. You are enjoying a delicious slice of pizza, so eating the pizza might have what type of effect on your body caused by endorphin release?
Analgesic. When something has an analgesic effect, it means it reduces pain. In this case, since pizza is a favorite food, eating it may promote the release of endorphins, which produce an analgesic effect that reduces the pain from biting your tongue.
Kawakami, S., Sato, H., Sasaki, A. T., Tanabe, H. C., Yoshida, Y., Saito, M., Toyoda, H., Sadato, N., & Kang, Y. (2016). The brain mechanisms underlying the perception of pungent taste of capsaicin and the subsequent autonomic responses. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 9, 720. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2015.00720 ↵
