Somatosensory system

Nerve system for sensing touch, temperature, body position, and pain Touch is a crucial means of receiving information. This photo shows tactile markings identifying stairs for visually impaired people. The somatosensory system, or somatic sensory system, is a subset of the sensory nervous system. The main functions of the somatosensory system are the perception of external stimuli, the perception of internal stimuli, and the regulation of body position and balance (proprioception). It is believed to act as a pathway between the different sensory modalities within the body. As of 2024 debate continued on the underlying mechanisms, correctness and validity of the somatosensory system model, and whether it impacts emotions in the body. The somatosensory system has been thought of as having two subdivisions; One for the detection of mechanosensory information related to touch. Mechanosensory information includes that of light touch, vibration, pressure and tension in the skin. Much of this information belongs to the sense of touch which is a general somatic sense in contrast to the special senses of sight, smell, taste, hearing, and balance. One for the nociception detection of pain a