Sensory Systems, Our Senses, and The Brain

Sensory systems, our senses, and the brain are fascinating topics that encompass how we perceive and interact with the world around us. In the context of Sally Goddard Blythe's book, "Reflexes, Learning, and Behavior" these topics are explored in the context of child development and learning.In this episode, we talk about the sensory systems and processing, primitive reflexes, and lower brain development. Our sensory systems are responsible for gathering information from the environment and transmitting it to our brain for processing. We have five primary senses: sight (vision), hearing (audition), touch (somatosensation), taste (gustation), and smell (olfaction). We also talk about two more key systems; the vestibular (balance) and proprioceptive (sense of space) systems. These senses play a crucial role in how we perceive the world.The brain processes sensory information received from the senses. This processing involves interpreting the sensory inputs and forming a coherent perception of our surroundings. It's a complex and dynamic process that influences our perception of the world.Primitive reflexes are automatic, involuntary responses to specific sensory stimuli. They are often seen in infants and play a crucial role in early development. Understanding how reflexes develop and integrate into more complex sensory processing can shed light on cognitive and motor development. We touch on how these can "turn back on" making the processing of information very distorted and challenging day-to-day.Lastly, we connect it all back to brain development and how it ties it all together. While our first year of life is designated to setting this developmental foundation, it is important to revisit nervous system regulation regularly as we are living faster and more overwhelming lives.