Oral somatosensory awareness

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Sensory Physiology
• Psychology

Background:

• Oral somatosensory awareness involves sensations from the mouth, crucial for experiencing the oral cavity and objects within it.
• Oral tissues possess dense somatosensory innervation, contributing to intense bodily experiences like toothache.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the origins and structure of oral somatosensory awareness.
• To focus on quantitative, mechanistic human studies and extend a model of bodily awareness to the mouth.
• To explore the somatosensory basis of perceptions like "mouth feel" and a conscious mouth image.

Main Methods:

• Review of quantitative and mechanistic studies on human oral somatosensation.
• Extension of a general model of bodily awareness to the oral cavity.
• Summary of oral tissue sensory innervation and brain projections.

Main Results:

• Oral somatosensory input forms perceptions of oral tissues and objects (food, liquids, devices).
• The concept of a conscious mouth image is explored.
• The somatosensory underpinnings of "mouth feel" are considered.

Conclusions:

• A theoretical framework is proposed to aid scientific study of oral somatosensory awareness.
• Understanding oral somatosensation is vital for human experience and behavior.
• This framework facilitates future research into this significant area of human experience.