Definition

Noun: - The faculty of bodily perception: The somatic sense is the system responsible for perceiving the internal state and external stimulation of the body. It encompasses sensations from the skin, muscles, joints, and internal organs.

Usage

The term "somatic sense" is used in scientific, medical, and psychological contexts to describe the collective sensory systems that provide information about the body itself, as opposed to the special senses like sight or hearing. - The study focused on how the somatic sense contributes to our sense of physical self. - Damage to neural pathways can impair the somatic sense.

Advanced Usage

• In neuropsychology: Refers to the integrated processing of somatosensory information in the brain.
  • The patient's lesion affected the cortical area responsible for integrating the somatic sense.

Variants and Related Words

• Somatosensory (adj): Relating to or denoting a sensation (such as pressure, pain, or warmth) that can occur anywhere in the body, in contrast to one localized at a sense organ (such as sight or balance).
  • The somatosensory cortex is a key brain region for processing touch.
• Somatosensation (n): Another term for somatic sense; the perception of sensory stimuli from the skin and body.
  • Somatosensation includes the perception of touch, temperature, and pain.

Synonyms

• Somatosensory system: The network of neural structures involved in somatic sense.
• Bodily sense: A more general term for the sense of the physical body.
• Somatesthesia: A technical synonym for the capacity for bodily perception.

Related Phrases and Concepts

• Proprioception: The sense of the relative position of one's own body parts and strength of effort being employed in movement, which is a component of the somatic sense.
  • Proprioception, a part of the somatic sense, allows you to touch your nose with your eyes closed.
• Interoception: The sense of the internal state of the body, often considered a part of or closely related to the somatic sense.
  • Hunger and thirst are monitored through interoception, which is linked to the broader somatic sense.

Noun

1. the faculty of bodily perception; sensory systems associated with the body; includes skin senses and proprioception and the internal organs