Senses are the physiological methods of Perception. The senses and their operation, classification, and theory are overlapping topics studied by a variety of fields, but most notably Neuroscience, Cognitive psychology (or Cognitive science), and Philosophy of perception.
A broadly acceptable definition of a sense would be "a system that consists of a sensory cell type (or group of cell types) that respond to a specific kind of physical energy, and that correspond to a defined region (or group of regions) within the brain where the signals are received and interpreted". Where disputes arise is with regard to the exact classification of the various cell types and their mapping to regions of the brain.
Based on this outline and depending on the chosen method of classification, somewhere between 9 and 21 human senses have been identified. Additionally, there are some other candidate physiological experiences which may or may not fall within the above classification (for example the sensory awareness of hunger and thirst).
Hearing or audition is the sense of Sound perception and results from tiny hair fibres in the inner Ear detecting the motion of a membrane which vibrates in response to changes in the pressure exerted by atmospheric particles within (at best) a range of 9 to 20000 Hz, however this changes for each individual. Sound can also be detected as vibrations conducted through the body by tactition. Lower and higher frequencies than can be heard are detected this way only.
Taste or gustation is one of the two main "chemical" senses. It is well-known that there are at least four types of taste "bud" (receptor) on the Tongue and hence, as should now be expected, there are anatomists who argue that these in fact constitute four or more different senses, given that each receptor conveys information to a slightly different region of the brain.
The four well-known receptors detect sweet, salt, sour, and bitter, although the receptors for sweet and bitter have not been conclusively identified. A fifth receptor, for a sensation called "umami", was first theorised in 1908 and its existence confirmed in 2000 (see ). The umami receptor detects the Amino acid glutamate, a flavor commonly found in meat, and in artificial flavourings such as monosodium glutamate.
Smell or olfaction is the other "chemical" sense. Unlike taste, there are hundreds of olfactory receptors, each binding to a particular molecular feature, according to current theory. The combination of features of the odor molecule makes up what we perceive as the molecule's smell. In the brain, olfaction is processed by the Olfactory system. Olfactory receptor neurons in the Nose differ from most other neurons in that they die and regenerate on a regular basis.
If the different taste-senses are not regarded as separate senses one may argue that Taste and Smell should likewise be grouped together as one sense.
Thermoception is the sense of heat and the absence of heat (cold), also by the Skin and including internal skin passages. There is some disagreement about how many senses this actually represents--the thermoceptors in the skin are quite different from the homeostatic thermoceptors which provide feedback on internal body temperature.
Nociception is the perception of pain. It can be classified as from one to three senses, depending on the classification method. The three types of pain receptors are cutaneous (skin), somatic (joints and bones) and visceral (body organs). For a considerable time it was believed that pain was simply the overloading of pressure receptors, but research in the first half of the 20th century indicated that pain was a distinct phenomenon that intertwined with all other senses, including touch.
Proprioception is the perception of body awareness and is a sense that people rely on enormously, yet are frequently not aware of. More easily demonstrated than explained, proprioception is the "unconscious" awareness of where the various regions of the body are located at any one time. (This can be demonstrated by anyone closing their eyes and waving their hand around. Assuming proper proprioceptive function, at no time will the person lose awareness of where the hand actually is, even though it is not being detected by any of the other senses).
Electroception (or "electroreception"), the most significant of the non-human senses, is the ability to detect electric fields. Several species of fish, sharks and rays have evolved the capacity to sense changes in electric fields in their immediate vicinity. Some fish passively sense changing nearby electric fields, some generate their own weak, electric fields and sense the pattern of field potentials over their body surface, and some use these generating and sensing capacities for social communication. The mechanisms by which electroceptive fishes construct a spatial representation from very small differences in field potentials involve comparisons of spike latencies from different parts of the fish's body.
The only order of mammals which is known to demonstrate electroception is the Monotreme order. Among these mammals, the Platypus (see ) has the most acute sense of electroception.
Humans (and probably other mammals) can detect electric fields indirectly by detecting the effect they have on hairs. An electrically charged balloon, for instance, will exert a force on human arm hairs, which can be felt through tactition and identified as coming from a static charge (and not from wind or the like). This is however not Electroception since there is no separate sense for it. The presence of an electrical field is merely concluded from a side-effect of another sense.
Magnetoception (or "magnetoreception") is the ability to detect fluctuations in magnetic fields and is most commonly observed in birds, though it has also been observed in insects such as bees. Although there is no dispute that this sense exists in many avians (it is essential to the navigational abilities of migratory birds) it is not a well understood phenomenon (see ).
Magnetotactic bacteria build miniature magnets inside themselves and use them to determine their orientation relative to the Earth's magnetic field.
Echolocation is the ability to determine orientation to other objects through interpretation of reflected sound (like Sonar). Bats and dolphins are noted for this ability, though some other mammals and birds do as well. It is most often used to navigate through poor lighting conditions or to identify and track prey. There is presently an uncertainty whether this is simply an extremely developed post-sensory interpretation of auditory perceptions, or actually constitutes a separate sense. Resolution of the issue will require brain scans of animals while they actually perform echolocation, a task which has proved difficult in practice.
Pressure detection uses the Lateral line, which is a pressure-sensing system of hairs found in fish and some aquatic amphibians. It is used primary for navigation, hunting, and schooling.