The sensory systems are largely intertwined with the nervous system because the nervous system receives sensations and interprets what they mean. When there is damage to part of a sensory system, it may change the sensory experience.
Imagine you have been asked to write an article for a popular medical magazine on the role of the sensory system and the effects of damage within it.
Choose 2 of the 5 senses.
Write a 1,050- to 1,400-word article on how damage to the nervous system affects the sensory experience. Include the following:
Identify which nervous system structures are involved in that sensory system.
Identify which peripheral nervous system structures are involved in the chosen sensory systems, including sensory and motor neurons.
Explain potential or hypothetical damage to the structures.
Describe how the damage has affected the nervous systems function, including autonomic nervous system responses (parasympathetic and sympathetic) as well as somatic nervous system responses.
Explain why this change in the nervous system has occurred.
Explain external indicators, or symptoms, of the damage.
Describe how the sensory experience may be different because of this damage.