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Proprioception
From Wikipedia, the free
encyclopedialink
Thecerebellumis largely
responsible for coordinating the unconscious aspects of
proprioception.
Proprioception(PRO-pree-o-SEP-shun
(IPA
pronunciation:
[ˈpɹopɹiːoˌsɛpʃən]);
fromLatinproprius,
meaning "one's own" and perception) is thesenseof the
relative position of neighbouring parts of the body. Unlike
the sixexteroceptivesenses
(sight,taste,smell,touch,hearing,
andbalance)
by which we perceive the outside world, proprioception is
aninteroceptivesense that
provides feedback solely on the status of the body
internally. It is the sense that indicates whether the body
is moving with required effort, as well as where the
various parts of the body are located in relation to each
other. The Position-Movement sensation was originally
described in 1557 by Julius Caeser Scaliger as a 'sense of
locomotion'. Much later in 1826Charles
Bellexpounded the idea of a
'muscle sense' and this is credited with being one of the
first physiologic feedback mechanisms. Bell's idea was that
commands were being carried from the brain to the muscles,
and that reports on the muscle's condition would be sent in
the reverse direction. Later, in 1880,Henry
Charlton Bastiansuggested 'kinaesthesia'
instead of 'muscle sense' on the basis that some of the
afferent information (back to the brain) was coming from
other structures including tendon, joints, skin, and
muscle. In 1889,Alfred
Goldscheidersuggested a classification
of kinaesthesia into 3 types: muscle, tendon, and articular
sensitivity. In 1906, Sherrington published a landmark work
which introduced the terms 'proprioception'
'interoception', and 'exteroception'. The 'exteroceptors'
being the organs responsible for information from outside
the body such as the eyes, ears, mouth, and skin. The
interoceptors then gave information about the internal
organs, while 'proprioception' was awareness of movement
derived from muscular, tendon, and articular sources. Such
a system of classification has kept physiologists and
anatomists searching for specialised nerve endings which
transmit data on joint capsule and muscle tension (such as
muscle spindles and Pacini corpuscles).
Proprioception vs.
kinesthesia
Kinesthesia is another
term that is often used interchangeably with
proprioception. Some users differentiate the kinesthetic
sense from proprioception by excluding the sense of
equilibrium or balance from kinesthesia. An innerearinfection, for
example, might degrade the sense of balance. This would
degrade the proprioceptive sense, but not the kinesthetic
sense. The infected person would be able to walk, but only
by using the person's sense of sight to maintain balance;
the person would be unable to walk with eyes closed.
Proprioception and kinaesthesia are seen as interrelated
and there is considerable disagreement regarding the
definition of these terms. Some of this difficulty stems
from Sherrington's original description of joint position
sense (or the ability to determine where a particular body
part exactly is in space) and kinaesthesia (or the
sensation that the body part has moved) under a more
general heading of proprioception. Clinical aspects of
proprioception are measured in tests that measure a
subject's ability to detect an externally imposed passive
movement, or the ability to reposition a joint to a
predetermined position. Often it is assumed that the
ability of one of these aspects will be related to another,
unfortunately experimental evidence suggests there is no
strong relation between these two aspects. This suggests
that while these components may well be related in a
cognitive manner, they seem to be separate physiologically.
Much of the forgoing work is dependent on the notion that
proprioception is essentially a feedback mechanism: that is
the body moves (or is moved) and then the information about
this is returned to the brain whereby subsequent
adjustments could be made. More recent work into the
mechanism of ankle sprains suggest that the role of
reflexes may be more limited due to their long latencies
(even at the spinal cord level) as ankle sprain events
occur in perhaps 100msec or less. Accordingly, a model has
been proposed to include a 'feedforward' component of
proprioception where the subject will also have central
information about the body's position prior to attaining
it.
Kinesthesia is a key component inmuscle
memoryandhand-eye
coordinationand training can improve
this sense (seeblind
contour drawing). The ability to swing a
golf club, or to catch a ball requires a finely-tuned sense
of the position of the joints. This sense needs to become
automatic through training to enable a person to
concentrate on other aspects of performance, such as
maintaining motivation or seeing where other people are.
[edit]
Basis of proprioceptive
sense
The proprioceptive sense
is believed to be composed ofinformationfromsensoryneuronslocated in
theinner
ear(motion and orientation)
and in thestretch
receptorslocated in themusclesand the
joint-supporting ligaments (stance). There are specific
nerve receptors for this form of perception, just as there
are specific receptors for pressure, light, temperature,
sound, and other sensory experiences, known as
adequate stimulireceptors.
Although it was known that finger kinesthesia relies on
skin sensation, recent research has found that
kinesthesia-basedhapticperception
strongly relies on the forces experienced during
touch.[1]This research
allows the creation of "virtual", illusory haptic shapes
with different perceived qualities.[2]
[edit]
Applications
misleading.
Please see the discussion on thetalk
page.
An editor is
concerned that statements of fact in this section
may be
[edit]
Law
enforcement
Proprioception is tested
by American police officers using the field sobriety test
where the subject is required to touch his or her nose with
eyes closed. People with normal proprioception may make an
error of no more than 20millimetres.
People suffering from impaired proprioception (a symptom of
moderate to severe
alcohol intoxication) fail this test due to
difficulty locating their limbs in space relative to their
noses.
[edit]
Learning
Proprioception is what
allows someone to learn to walk in complete darkness
without losing balance. During the learning of any new
skill, sport, or art, it is usually necessary to become
familiar with some proprioceptive tasks specific to that
activity. Without the appropriate integration of
proprioceptive input, an artist would not be able to
brushpaintonto a canvas
without looking at the hand as it moved the brush over the
canvas; it would be impossible to drive anautomobilebecause a
motorist would not be able to steer or use the foot pedals
while looking at the road ahead; a person could nottouch
typeor perform ballet; and
people would not even be able to walk without watching
where they put their feet.
Oliver
Sacksonce reported the case of
a young woman who lost her proprioception due to a viral
infection of herspinal
cord.[3]At first she
was not able to move properly at all or even control her
tone of voice (as voice modulation is primarily
proprioceptive). Later she relearned by using her sight
(watching her feet) andvestibulum(orinner
ear) only for movement while
using hearing to judge voice modulation. She eventually
acquired a stiff and slow movement and nearly normal
speech, which is believed to be the best possible in the
absence of this sense. She could not judge effort involved
in picking up objects and would grip them painfully to be
sure she didn't drop them.
[edit]
Training
The proprioceptive sense
can be sharpened through study of many disciplines.
TheAlexander
Techniqueuses the study of movement
to enhance kinesthetic judgment of effort and
location.Jugglingtrains
reaction time, spatial location, and efficient movement.
Standing on awobble
boardis often used to retrain
or increase proprioception abilities, particularly as
physical therapy for ankle or knee injuries. Standing on
one leg (stork standing) and various other body-position
challenges are also used in such disciplines asYoga.
In addition, the slow, focused movements of Tai Chi
practice provide an environment whereby the proprioceptive
information being fed back to the brain stimulates an
intense, dynamic "listening environment" to further enhance
mind / body integration. Several studies have shown that
the efficacy of these types of training is challenged by
closing the eyes, because the eyes give invaluable feedback
to establishing the moment-to-moment information of
balance.
[edit]
Impairment
Apparently, temporary loss
or impairment of proprioception may happen periodically
during growth, mostly during adolescence. Growth that might
also influence this would be large increases or drops in
bodyweight/size due to fluctuations of fat
(liposuction,
rapid fat loss,
rapid fat gain) and muscle content
(bodybuilding,anabolic
steroids,catabolisis/starvation).
It can also occur to those who gain new levels offlexibility,stretching,
andcontortion.
A limb's being in a new range of motion never experienced
(or at least, not for a long time since youth perhaps) can
disrupt one's sense of location of that limb. Possible
experiences include these: suddenly feeling that feet or
legs are missing from one's mental self-image; needing to
look down at one's limbs to be sure they are still there;
and falling down while walking, especially when attention
is focused upon something other than the act of walking.
Proprioception is occasionally impaired spontaneously,
especially when one is tired. One's body may appear too
large or too small, or parts of the body may appear
distorted in size. Similar effects can sometimes occur
duringepilepsyormigraineauras.
These effects are presumed to arise from abnormal
stimulation of the part of theparietal
cortexof thebraininvolved with
integrating information from different parts of the
body.[4]
Proprioceptive illusions can also be induced, such as
thePinocchio
illusion.
The proprioceptive sense is often unnoticed because humans
will adapt to a continuously-present stimulus; this is
calledhabituation,desensitization,
oradaptation.
The effect is that proprioceptive sensory impressions
disappear, just as a scent can disappear over time. One
practical advantage of this is that unnoticed actions or
sensation continue in the background while an individual's
attention can move to another concern. TheAlexander
Techniqueaddresses these issues.
People who have a limbamputatedmay still have
a confused sense of that limb existence on their body,
known asPhantom Limb
Syndrome. Phantom sensations can
occur as passive proprioceptive sensations of the limb's
presence, or more active sensations such as perceived
movement, pressure, pain, itching, or temperature. The
etiology of the phantom limb phenomenon was disputed in
2006, but some consensus existed in favour ofneurological(e.g. neural
signal bleed across a preexistingsensory
map, as posited byV.S.
Ramachandran) overpsychologicalexplanations.
Phantom sensations and phantom pain may also occur after
the removal of body parts other than the limbs, such as
after amputation of the breast, extraction of a tooth
(phantom tooth pain), or removal of an eye
(phantom
eye syndrome).
Temporary impairment of proprioception has also been known
to occur from an overdose ofvitamin
B6(pyridoxine and
pyridoxamine). Most of the impaired function returns to
normal shortly after the intake of vitamins returns to
normal. Impairment can also be caused bycytotoxicfactors such
aschemotherapy.
It has been proposed that even commonTinnitusand the
attendant hearing frequency-gaps masked by the perceived
sounds may cause erroneous proprioceptive information to
the balance and comprehension centers of the brain,
precipitating mild confusion.
Proprioception is permanently impaired in patients who
suffer from joint hypermobility orEhlers-Danlos
Syndrome(a genetic condition that
results in weak connective tissue throughout the body). It
can also be permanently impaired from viral infections as
reported by Sacks. The catastrophic effect of major
proprioceptive loss is reviewed by Robles-De-La-Torre
(2006).