- #1
icakeov
- 379
- 27
Hello, I was reading up on different afferent neural input and came across the "special senses" (besides general senses) definition:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_senses
In there, there is a distinction between somatic and visceral senses:
special somatic afferents and special visceral afferents.
I was a bit confused about why vision and hearing got "somatic", whereas smell and taste got "visceral". The explanation is that the latter two "develop in association with the gastrointestinal tract."
Basically, due to association to a visceral organ, such as the gastrointestinal tract, an organ gets considered "visceral"? Is this because the gastrointestinal tract sends "information" to smell and taste organs, making it more "visceral" and less "somatic?
Thanks for any feedback.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_senses
In there, there is a distinction between somatic and visceral senses:
special somatic afferents and special visceral afferents.
I was a bit confused about why vision and hearing got "somatic", whereas smell and taste got "visceral". The explanation is that the latter two "develop in association with the gastrointestinal tract."
Basically, due to association to a visceral organ, such as the gastrointestinal tract, an organ gets considered "visceral"? Is this because the gastrointestinal tract sends "information" to smell and taste organs, making it more "visceral" and less "somatic?
Thanks for any feedback.