Sensorium is a word referring to all of the faculties of perception as a whole. A person’s sensorium includes their sense of sight, touch, hearing, smell, and taste, as well as such stimuli as pain or temperature. The etymology of the term extends back to the 1640s and its use in referring to the “seat of sensation in the brain of humans and higher animals.” The word sensorium is frequently used in media studies to explain how print, television, films, video games, music, and the internet impinge on the normal functioning of sense organs. The techno-sensorium is a term used to describe the artificial environment created by a combination of media, the urban landscape, wearable and embedded devices, and cultural influences. Some common examples of techno-sensoria or technologies of sensation are smart cities, virtual reality, augmented reality, virtual worlds, and online platforms. The sensorium was popularized by Canadian philosopher Marshall McLuhan, who frequently wrote about how different kinds of media are able to train and distort our sensory experiences and understanding.
Research into the senses as a totality has led to some startling conclusions about cultural or anthropological differences in perception. For example, some cultures appear to privilege sight over other sense organs. Others privilege touch as the primary or most important organ. Even the number of senses is a matter of some debate. A number of research centers have been established to pursue knowledge of the senses and perception. These centers include the Amsterdam Center for Cross-Disciplinary Emotion and Sensory Studies, CenSes (University of London), the Center for Imaginative Ethnography, Centre for Sensory Studies, the Centre for the Study of the Senses, the Crossmodal Research Laboratory (University of Oxford), Cultures Sensibles (FNRS/Université de Liège), Display Cult, the Sensory Stories Project (University of York), the Sensory Ethnography Lab (Harvard University), the Sound Studies Lab (University of Copenhagen), The Sense Lab (Concordia University Montreal), and Sensory Orchestration.