Sensory Processing, sometimes referred to a Sensory Integration (SI), refers to the ability of the brain to receive information from sensory receptors in the body, process that information in different parts of the brain to make sense of an individual’s surroundings and demands, and then produce an appropriate adaptable motor and emotional response to that sensory information.

This is a never-ending cycle of sensory information in, motor and emotional response out, which creates new sensory information in and a motor and emotional response out cycle.

Most people are familiar with the 5 basic senses we learn in elementary school. But not many people realize we actually have 8 sensory systems in our body.

• Tactile (Touch)
• Proprioceptive (Position/Pressure/Stretch)
• Vestibular (Movement/Balance)
• Auditory (Hearing)
• Visual (Sight)
• Gustatory (Taste)
• Olfactory (Smell)
• Interoception (Internal/Mindfulness)

You can see in the above visual that of the eight sensory systems in our bodies, the Tactile (Touch), Proprioceptive (Pressure/Stretch), and the Vestibular (Movement and Balance) systems are the foundational systems. They lay the groundwork for the other sensory systems to build upon.

In addition to having those three foundational sensory systems, there are several sensory systems that work closely together. We will highlight those relationships in a future post.