4 ms·
I've always learned that proprioception is a standalone thing, not based on the air moving over the skin etc, but really just your own nervous system telling yo
by t0mas88 5y ago
I've always learned that proprioception is a standalone thing, not based on the air moving over the skin etc, but really just your own nervous system telling you the position of your joints. Which together tells you where your arm is.
As far as I know it would theoretically still work in a vacuum with your eyes closed.
- jameshart 5y agoProprioception is the overall sense of knowing where your body parts are. You don’t just have a bunch of ‘proprioceptor’ nerves dedicated solely to that task, you have a whole wealth of signals coming into your brain that it aggregates into that overall sense. Similar to how vision isn’t just the raw signals on your optic nerve, but a whole machinery around filling in the details and blanks and saccades from memory and inference to constitute a full visual sense.
- t0mas88 5y agoJup, that’s what I meant. Your nerve cells sensing where things are as opposed to other external senses like skin touch being used to figure it out.
- DoingIsLearning 5y ago> You don’t just have a bunch of ‘proprioceptor’ nerves dedicated solely to that task, Actually you do. Most animals have capsule joint receptors which are dedicated to sensing stretching/relaxing of the joint capsule tissue. This signal is then sent through dedicated nerve paths on the dorsal part of your spine.
- jameshart 5y agoAnd... they aren't just used for proprioception. They also tell you how heavy things are when you pick them up, and sense vibrations, and help you sense changes in acceleration, which are distinct sensations from 'where in space are my hands right now.'