Changes

A human's interaction with his environment depends on signals coming from the body that allows it to respond to its surroundings.<ref name=”1”>Han, J., Waddington, G., Adams, R., Anson, J. and Liu, Y. (2016). Assessing proprioception: a critical review of methods. Journal of Sport and Health Science, 5: 80-90</ref><ref name=”2”>Proske, U. and Gandevia, S. C. (2012). The proprioceptive senses: their roles in signaling body shape, body position and movement, and muscle force. Physiological Reviews, 92: 1651-1696</ref>  

A human's interaction with his environment depends on signals coming from the body that allows it to respond to its surroundings.<ref name=”1”>Han, J., Waddington, G., Adams, R., Anson, J. and Liu, Y. (2016). Assessing proprioception: a critical review of methods. Journal of Sport and Health Science, 5: 80-90</ref><ref name=”2”>Proske, U. and Gandevia, S. C. (2012). The proprioceptive senses: their roles in signaling body shape, body position and movement, and muscle force. Physiological Reviews, 92: 1651-1696</ref>  

Besides the usual senses that are responsible for our interaction with the external world (sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste), there are other ones responsible for our internal functioning. The knowledge about position and movement of the limbs and trunk is provided by sensations arising in proprioceptors. This allows a person to maneuver around obstacles in the dark, or to manipulate objects out of view, for example. This internal sense, often referred to as the sixth sense, is called proprioception. It affects our lives continually, allowing the accomplishment of complex tasks that would be impossible without it. As an example to show the impact of the absence of proprioception, moving a finger would be extremely difficult. Without proprioception the brain cannot feel what the finger is doing, and the process of moving it would have to be carried in a more conscious and calculated way, compensating the loss of positional feedback with vision. Another example that shows the relevance of proprioception is driving. Drivers are able to keep their eyes on the road while adjusting their arms and hands on the wheel, and applying the correct amount of pressure to the pedals <ref name=”1”></ref> <ref name=”3”> Surve, S. (2009). What is proprioception? Retrieved from http://brainblogger.com/2009/06/09/what-is-proprioception</ref> <ref name=”4”> SPD Australia. The proprioceptive system. Retrived from http://www.spdaustralia.com.au/the-proprioceptive-system</ref>.

Besides the usual senses that are responsible for our interaction with the external world (sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste), there are other ones responsible for our internal functioning.

 

The knowledge about position and movement of the limbs and trunk is provided by sensations arising in proprioceptors.

 

This allows a person to maneuver around obstacles in the dark, or to manipulate objects out of view, for example.

 

This internal sense, often referred to as the sixth sense, is called proprioception.

 

As an example to show the impact of the absence of proprioception, moving a finger would be extremely difficult. Without proprioception the brain cannot feel what the finger is doing, and the process of moving it would have to be carried in a more conscious and calculated way, compensating the loss of positional feedback with vision. Another example that shows the relevance of proprioception is driving. Drivers are able to keep their eyes on the road while adjusting their arms and hands on the wheel, and applying the correct amount of pressure to the pedals <ref name=”1”></ref> <ref name=”3”> Surve, S. (2009). What is proprioception? Retrieved from http://brainblogger.com/2009/06/09/what-is-proprioception</ref> <ref name=”4”> SPD Australia. The proprioceptive system. Retrived from http://www.spdaustralia.com.au/the-proprioceptive-system</ref>.

Proprioception is not bounded by visual cues. Even when vision is absent, there is a correct sense of limb position. At any time, a person still knows the position of the different body parts during a movement and has an accurate map of their position in space. Therefore, the proprioceptive system allows precise placements such as touching the tip of the nose with the eyes closed <ref name=”5”> Fortier, S. and Basset, F. A. (2012). The effects of exercise on limb proprioceptive signals. Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jelekin.2012.04.001</ref>.

Proprioception is not bounded by visual cues. Even when vision is absent, there is a correct sense of limb position. At any time, a person still knows the position of the different body parts during a movement and has an accurate map of their position in space. Therefore, the proprioceptive system allows precise placements such as touching the tip of the nose with the eyes closed <ref name=”5”> Fortier, S. and Basset, F. A. (2012). The effects of exercise on limb proprioceptive signals. Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jelekin.2012.04.001</ref>.