Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Tactile and Chemical Senses

Tactile and Chemical Senses

Tactile senses encompass touch, temperature, and pain, each mediated by specific receptors. Touch receptors detect mechanical energy or pressure against the skin. Sensory fibers from these receptors enter the spinal cord and relay information to the brain stem. Here, most fibers cross over to the opposite side of the brain. The touch information then moves to the thalamus, which projects a map of the body's surface onto the somatosensory areas of the parietal lobes in the cerebral cortex.

Sensory Modalities

Sensory Modalities

Sensation typically is the process by which the sensory receptors and sense organs detect stimuli from the internal and external environment and transmit this information to the central nervous system for processing.
General senses refer to the broad category of sensory information detected by receptors in the body and can be further grouped into somatic and visceral senses. Somatic sensations include touch, pressure, temperature, and pain and are essential for navigating our environment and...

Somatosensation

Somatosensation

The somatosensory system relays sensory information from the skin, mucous membranes, limbs, and joints. Somatosensation is more familiarly known as the sense of touch. A typical somatosensory pathway includes three types of long neurons: primary, secondary, and tertiary. Primary neurons have cell bodies located near the spinal cord in groups of neurons called dorsal root ganglia. The sensory neurons of ganglia innervate designated areas of skin called dermatomes.

Sensory Perception: Organization of the Somatosensory System

Sensory Perception: Organization of the Somatosensory System

The somatosensory system is the central and peripheral nervous system component that senses and processes touch, pressure, pain, temperature, and body position or proprioception. The process of sensation takes place at three levels:
The receptor level:
The receptor level is the first stage of sensation. It involves the detection of a stimulus by specialized sensory receptors. The stimulus must arrive within the receptor's receptive field. Next, the receptor converts the energy of the...

Synesthesia

Synesthesia

Synesthesia is a remarkable condition where stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. People with synesthesia experience a blending or crossing of their senses, such as sight and sound, leading to cross-modal sensations. In this condition, the stimulation of one sense, such as hearing a number or musical note, triggers an experience of another sense, like sensing a specific color, taste, or smell. People...

Introduction to Special Senses

Introduction to Special Senses

Sensory receptors play an integral part in comprehending our external and internal environments. They receive diverse stimuli, converting them into the nervous system's electrochemical signals. This conversion occurs as the stimulus alters the sensory neuron's cell membrane potential, instigating the generation of an action potential. This action potential is subsequently transmitted to the central nervous system (CNS), which integrates with other sensory data or higher cognitive...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

The metabolic layer of cognition: integrating metabolomics, breathomics, and systems neuroscience.

Frontiers in neuroscience·2026

Same author

From Localization to Coordination: Distributed Causality and the Emergence of Biological Function in the Brain and Plant Systems.

Biology·2026

Same author

Response to Shala: Temporal predictability of pain shapes motor system inhibition.

Pain·2026

Same author

The role of outcome affective value in driving human Pavlovian learning.

Journal of experimental psychology. Animal learning and cognition·2026

Same author

Predictive encoding of pain location in the motor system indexed by somatomotor alpha and corticospinal excitability.

NeuroImage·2026

Same author

The neural underpinnings of cognitive and postural profile of a young adult with congenital cerebellar athrophy: a longitudinal case report.

Frontiers in neuroscience·2026

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Nov 16, 2025

Frame-by-Frame Video Analysis of Idiosyncratic Reach-to-Grasp Movements in Humans

Frame-by-Frame Video Analysis of Idiosyncratic Reach-to-Grasp Movements in Humans

Published on: January 15, 2018

Reach-to-Grasp: A Multisensory Experience.

Sonia Betti¹, Umberto Castiello¹, Chiara Begliomini¹

¹Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy.

Frontiers in Psychology

|February 26, 2021

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

This review explores how multiple senses, including vision, proprioception, and even taste and smell, influence reach-to-grasp movements. Understanding this multisensory integration is key for future research, particularly in rehabilitation.

Keywords:

grasping kinematics multisensory integration reach-to-grasp sensory perception

More Related Videos

Estimation of Contact Regions Between Hands and Objects During Human Multi-Digit Grasping

Estimation of Contact Regions Between Hands and Objects During Human Multi-Digit Grasping

Published on: April 21, 2023

Design and Use of an Apparatus for Presenting Graspable Objects in 3D Workspace

Design and Use of an Apparatus for Presenting Graspable Objects in 3D Workspace

Published on: August 8, 2019

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Nov 16, 2025

Frame-by-Frame Video Analysis of Idiosyncratic Reach-to-Grasp Movements in Humans

Frame-by-Frame Video Analysis of Idiosyncratic Reach-to-Grasp Movements in Humans

Published on: January 15, 2018

Estimation of Contact Regions Between Hands and Objects During Human Multi-Digit Grasping

Estimation of Contact Regions Between Hands and Objects During Human Multi-Digit Grasping

Published on: April 21, 2023

Design and Use of an Apparatus for Presenting Graspable Objects in 3D Workspace

Design and Use of an Apparatus for Presenting Graspable Objects in 3D Workspace

Published on: August 8, 2019

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Human motor control
Sensory integration

Background:

Reach-to-grasp movements are fundamental for human interaction with the environment.
These movements serve as a model for studying goal-oriented actions.
Existing research highlights the importance of sensory information in motor control.

Purpose of the Study:

To review experimental evidence on the multisensory substrates of prehension.
To enhance the conceptualization of how different senses contribute to reach-to-grasp actions.
To explore the role of multisensory integration in planning and executing goal-directed movements.

Main Methods:

Literature review of experimental studies on sensory influences in prehension.
Analysis of evidence from various sensory modalities (vision, proprioception, audition, taste, olfaction).
Synthesis of findings to understand multisensory contributions to motor behavior.

Main Results:

Reach-to-grasp planning and execution are significantly influenced by multisensory inputs.
Vision and proprioception play crucial roles, but audition, taste, and olfaction also contribute.
Multisensory integration shapes the precision and success of prehensile actions.

Conclusions:

Multisensory constituents predominantly shape prehensile behavior.
A comprehensive understanding of sensory integration is vital for advancing motor control research.
Findings have significant implications for future research, especially in the rehabilitative domain for motor recovery.