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You may have learned in the early days of school the 5 senses : touch, smell, sight, hearing and taste. But you may be unfamiliar with the sixth sense, known as proprioception. The reason why it's so uncommonly known is because it's not something you can feel, see, or even know that it's there, in a way it's hidden.
So what is proprioception? Proprioception is essentially the sense that provides information about spatial awareness and the movement of different body parts in relation to each other.
Proprioceptive signals are transmitted to the CNS, central nervous system, where they are integrated with information with other sensory systems to create an overall representation of body position, movement, and acceleration. These other sensory systems in which they are integrated with information can be the vestibular system, dealing with balance or the visual system. Proprioceptive signals come from the muscles, tendons, and joints which contain sensory receptors called proprioceptors that mediate proprioception and induce the signals to the CNS.
In our bodies we have two types of proprioception, the conscious and subconscious proprioception ,and these two types follow a different pathway to the cerebellum to register what is happening. The conscious proprioception is communicated by the dorsal column-medial lemniscus (DCML) to the cerebellum. Due to the DCML pathway, it will convey sensations such as fine touch, vibration, pressure, and position from skin and joints. For the subconscious, proprioception the pathway is more complicated, being proprioceptors communicated via the dorsal spinocerebellar tract and ventral cerebral tract to the CNS. With both carrying proprioceptive information from the lower limbs
Proprioception is a very important sense to the brain as it tells the body where it is in space, playing a large role in coordination and self-regulation. As well as involving many different systems such as the peripheral mechanoreceptors.
So when there is a slight dysfunction of proprioception, you may experience symptoms like :
Balance issues
Uncoordinated movements
Dizziness
The dysfunction or poor proprioception might be from age and the natural deterioration of muscles and joints, however the loss of proprioception also might be induced from many different conditions.
Alcohol intoxication
Neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinsons and MS
Peripheral neuropathy
Vestibular disorders such as vertigo
In summary, proprioception might be an unfamiliar term to many of you, however it must go unnoticed. It's an imperative sense in our bodies that allows us to walk without looking down or touching our nose with our eyes closed. Thus without proprioception, we won't have a feeling of sense of position or movements, it will feel as if we aren't in the present moment in time. Our whole body awareness comes from the sense of proprioception and that's what makes this sense unique and important to every individual.
Bibliography
Taylor, J.L. (2013). Proprioception - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics. [online] Sciencedirect.com. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/proprioception.
to, C. (2003). sense of the relative position of one’s own parts of the body and strength of effort being employed in movement. [online] Wikipedia.org. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proprioception#:~:text=Proprioceptive%20signals%20are%20transmitted%20to,position%2C%20movement%2C%20and%20acceleration [Accessed 7 Dec. 2024].
Clinic, C. (2024). Proprioception: What It Is, How To Improve It & Disorder. [online] Cleveland Clinic. Available at: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/proprioception [Accessed 7 Dec. 2024].
Santos-Longhurst, A. (2019). What Is Proprioception, and Why Is It so Important? [online] Healthline. Available at: https://www.healthline.com/health/fitness/proprioception [Accessed 7 Dec. 2024].
https://www.facebook.com/WebMD (2021). What Is Proprioception? [online] WebMD. Available at: https://www.webmd.com/brain/what-is-proprioception [Accessed 7 Dec. 2024].
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