Final answer:
Humans have more than the traditionally taught five senses; we also have somatic senses like temperature (thermoception) and pain (nociception) and spatial senses such as balance (vestibular sensation), body position (proprioception), and movement (kinesthesia). These additional senses are integral to our interaction with the environment and are part of sensory transduction.
Step-by-step explanation:
Humans commonly know we have five basic senses: vision, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. However, this does not encompass all our sensory capabilities. In addition to these well-known senses, there are the somatic and spatial senses that provide vital information about the body and its environment.
The somatic senses are a subset of the general senses and include sensations such as temperature, pain, pressure, and vibration. Thermoception is the sense of temperature, and nociception is the sensation of pain. Both are crucial for protecting the body from harm, allowing us to react to potentially dangerous changes in our environment.
Spatial senses involve the body's ability to understand its position in space and includes the vestibular sensation (balance and spatial orientation), proprioception (awareness of body position), and kinesthesia (sense of body movement). Together, these senses help us coordinate our movements and maintain posture and balance.
All of these senses are part of the complex sensory system responsible for sensory transduction, the process whereby sensory stimuli are converted into electrical signals in the nervous system.