[Contribution of human genetics to the understanding of sensory systems]

As in the other animal species, human senses are adapted to their environment. The energy of photonic, mechanical, thermic or chemical, stimulus is perceived by sensory cells, either dispersed or packed in a sensory end organ. Fifteen years ago, our knowledge of the molecular bases of the function of the various modes of sensory perception was rudimentary with the noticeable exception of that of the phototransduction cascade. Since then, several causative genes for human sensory defects have been isolated. We will examine the outcome of this research in fundamental and medical terms, and bring up the vast yet unexplored fields of the sensory perception. Human genetics should contribute to enlighten the molecular aspects of the latter.