“Sense”-itive IssuesExploring the Relationships Among the Five

Senses

1. If you had to give up one of your senses (hearing, sight, smell, taste, touch), which would you choose & why?

2. Describe a situation in which one of your remaining senses would help you compensate for the loss of the 5th sense.

3. Is one sense more valuable than any other?

4. How easily can a person adapt to the loss of a particular sense?

Questions to Consider

5. What technologies have been developed to help people who have lost some or all of a particular sense?

6. How is information from one sense amplified by another sense (e.g. would you be able to smell as well if you could not see what you were smelling?)

7. Which do you think is worse: not being born with a particular sense at all, or losing that particular sense later in life? Why?

8. If you were a superhero, what would your special ability be? Why?

Questions continued

The loss of hearing is called audition. Sound is detected through vibrations in the ear. ◦ Responses to hearing loss include:

Hearing aids - http://www.nbcnews.com/video/nightly-news/52173658#52173658

Cochlear implants - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTzTt1VnHRM

Ability to communicate with Sign language & /or Lip-reading

9. For fun… everyone be quiet & close your eyes. Write down all sounds you hear

Hearing

Sight (or vision) allows people to see. Color blindness in a form of vision impairment◦ Responses to blindness

Glasses/contacts Brail (ability to read) Laser eye surgery Bionic eye 2013 a neural implant gave rats the ability to see

infrared light For fun…

http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/chvision.html

Sight

The loss of smell (olfaction) is anosmia ◦ As a result, people may find food less appetizing,

& may have problems detecting gas leaks or spoiled food

◦ Your attraction to people is associated with your pheromone smell

◦ Loss of smell can cause depression because you often associate your memories with smells

◦ The olfactory receptor neurons differ because they regularly die & regenerate on a regular basis

Smell

Smells are generally strong, pleasant or neutral◦ http://www.cbsnews.com/news/why-losing-your-se

nse-of-smell-stinks/

10. For fun… what do you smell?

Smell continued

The ability to sense touch is somatosensory. ◦ You can perceive touch through skin, tongue, throat◦ There are changes in pressure (firm, brushing,

sustained) touch◦ The loss of touch is called tactile anesthesia

Responses to loss of touch◦ Bionic arm/legs◦ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGi7dnapm08 ◦ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ue0Rb02_SU

11. For fun… describe the texture of what you feel

Touch

The ability to taste is gustation◦ There are 5 different tastes: sweet, bitter, sour, salty,

unami (pleasant/savory)◦ Exposure to different foods at an early age can

increase your food preferences◦ Taste buds can change over time◦ Some people are extremely sensitive to certain tastes

(cilantro, onion, etc)◦ http://

videos.howstuffworks.com/tlc/29844-understanding-taste-buds-video.htm

12. For fun… what do you taste? How would you describe these foods?

Taste

Born with all of her senses, at age 2 after an illness, she became blind, deaf & mute◦ Her story is one of

overcoming obstacles as she learned to communicate, went to college, & became a motivation to many

Helen Keller