We have more than five senses. A neuroscientist explains the hidden abilities we often overlook

Neuroscientist Dr Lisa Feldman Barrett delves into the different ways we’re able to perceive the world that go beyond sight, sound, touch, taste and smell.

Photo by Solstice Hannan on Unsplash

How many senses does the average human have? Assuming you equate senses with their receptors, such as the retinas in your eyes and the cochlea in your ears, then the traditional answer to this question is five — seeing, hearing, touch, smell and taste.

They’re called the ‘exteroceptive’ senses because they carry information about the external world.

But your body also has receptors for events occurring inside you, such as your beating heart, expanding lungs, gurgling stomach and many other movements that you’re completely unaware of. They’re traditionally grouped together as another sense, called ‘interoception’.

Yet a proper answer to this question is even more complex and interesting. For one thing, your body has receptors to carry other types of information, such as temperature, that we don’t usually consider to be senses.

Also, some of your receptors are used for more than one sense. Your retinas, for example, are portals for the light waves you need for vision, but some retinal cells also inform your brain if it’s daytime or…