How Vision Interacts With the Eight Senses

Yes, I did say eight senses in the blog title. While most people are familiar with the classic five—sight, touch, sound, smell and taste—some academics and visionaries insist that we possess more than five senses—potentially up to nine or more.

For the purpose of this blog, I invite you to explore with me the 8 key senses that I believe are most supportive in understanding how vision integrates with and influences our lived experience.

With my therapeutic hat on and passion meeting profession, I am so ready to dive deep into this topic as my inner geek is happy dancing (or at least typing) away.

Vision operates as more than a standalone sense—it works in harmony with every part of our sensory system to deepen sensory experiences. If you have ever smelled freshly baked bread and immediately pictured a kitchen scene from your childhood or heard a familiar song and could almost see the moment it takes you back to, then you have experienced firsthand how sight interacts with your other senses.

How does that happen?
How does vision communicate so seamlessly with smell, sound, taste, touch and even our less obvious senses like proprioception and interoception?

As a vision therapist, I often remind my patients that the way we see the world is about so much more than what we visually perceive—it’s about how our entire sensory system works together. Get ready to explore how vision connects with the eight senses I am about to share with you and how the neural networks of our brain allow for this complex network of communication.

When we think about vision, we often focus solely on the eyes, but vision is a whole-brain experience. To understand this fully, we first need to appreciate the vast network of neural connections that begin in the retina and extend throughout the brain and body. If you are curious about the distinction between sight and vision, you can visit a previous blog post where I explore the relationship between vision, sight and our senses.

The retina converts light into electrical signals, which are then transmitted through the optic nerve to the brain. The signals reach various processing centers, like the occipital lobe, which interprets raw visual data.The visual process extends far beyond this point. Visual information is distributed across the brain via two primary streams.

The Dorsal Stream, often referred to in neuroscience as the “where” or “how” pathway, is a sophisticated neural corridor that bridges sight and movement. Running from the occipital lobe to the parietal lobe, it processes spatial information and helps us understand where things are in relation to our body—guiding everything from reaching and walking to catching and navigating. But it’s more than just a mechanical system. This pathway is also a silent partner in presence. It helps us feel where we are in space, translating what we see into embodied knowing. Every gesture, glance and graceful movement is touched by the wisdom of the Dorsal stream. It is where vision becomes action and perception becomes poetry—a quiet current that supports our ability to move through life with fluidity, awareness and grounded grace.

The Ventral Stream, known as the “what” pathway, is the part of the visual system that helps us recognise and make sense of the world around us. Flowing from the occipital lobe to the temporal lobe, it allows us to identify objects, faces and scenes with meaning and familiarity. It is how we know a the smile of a loved one, the shape of a tree or the sacred geometry of a sunset. This pathway doesn’t just decode images—it helps us connect to the emotional and symbolic richness behind what we see. In many ways, it is where sight meets soul, and recognition becomes remembrance.

These two streams work together to give us a full understanding of our environment, but the reach of vision goes much further than just the visual cortex. Vision interacts with almost every part of the brain, from areas responsible for memory to regions that control movement, balance and even emotions.

Join me on a journey into the space where vision meets sensation and the brain and body speak in a language of connection.

1. Vision and Sight 
While we as humans often use “sight” and “vision” interchangeably, they engage different layers of perception. Sight is the raw ability to detect light, shapes and movement—it is what your eyes see. Vision, on the other hand, is what your brain does with that information. It's the interpretation, meaning-making and awareness that turns images into understanding.

Vision is a higher-order function that integrates sight with memory, attention and emotion. You might see a tree, but through vision, you recognise it as your childhood climbing tree, stirring feelings of joy or you might see an emerald green doorway surrounded by bricks, but through vision, you recognise it as the entrance to your childhood home—awakening a cascade of memories, from muddy shoes on rainy days to the warmth of being welcomed inside. Vision helps us orient in space, plan movement, read faces and navigate social and sensory environments. While sight gives us access to the world, vision gives us the power to make sense of it.

2. Vision and Touch (Tactile Sense)

Have you ever noticed how when you reach for an object, your vision and sense of touch are working hand in hand? Before your fingers even make contact, your brain has already created an expectation of what the object will feel like based on visual cues like shape, texture or weight. Vision guides the hands, while touch confirms what the eyes have already predicted.

In fact, studies show that we can experience “visual touch.” For example, watching someone else being touched can activate the same brain regions involved when we experience touch ourselves. This is part of how vision and tactile senses communicate through shared neural pathways.

3. Vision and Hearing (Auditory Sense)

Think about your favourite movie scene. The emotional impact wouldn’t be the same without the soundtrack, would it? Vision and hearing are closely connected in the brain and they work together to create a richer, more immersive experience. In loud environments, we instinctively turn our heads toward sound because our auditory system triggers a visual response and of course our brain wants to see the source of the sound. 

In vision therapy, auditory stimuli is often incorporated to improve visual processing, especially in patients with multisensory integration difficulties. The connection between sight and sound is integral in understanding spoken language and engaging in social interactions.

4. Vision and Smell (Olfactory Sense)

Although vision and smell might seem less obviously connected, they actually have a surprising level of interaction. Smells can evoke vivid visual memories. For instance, the scent of pine trees might bring up an image of a christmas tree, while the smell of popcorn takes you back to the movie theatre. This happens because the olfactory system is deeply tied to the hippocampus (the memory centre of the brain),  which also plays a role in visual memory.

This connection between vision and smell shows how tightly bound our sensory memories are, creating multisensory experiences even in the absence of direct stimuli.

5. Vision and Taste (Gustatory Sense)

Just like smell, taste is closely linked with vision, particularly in how we experience food. We often “eat with our eyes” first. Visual cues such as colour and texture can influence how we perceive taste—bright, fresh colours signal healthy, flavourful food, while dull colours might suggest something less appetising.

Think of a glistening ruby-red strawberry that looks juicy and sweet before it ever touches your tongue. A vibrantly green smoothie may evoke feelings of vitality and nourishment. A perfectly charred pizza crust, bubbling with golden cheese and dotted with fresh basil, instantly signals comfort and satisfaction. while a greyish soup might cause hesitation, regardless of how it tastes.

A rich, dark square of chocolate cake with glossy ganache hints at decadence and indulgence before the first bite.
Even the careful arrangement of a dish—like artful swirls of sauce, intricate art on top of a warm beverage or a neatly stacked salad—can enhance appetite, anticipation and a moment of mindful enjoyment.

Vision doesn’t just support taste—it sets the stage for how we receive and respond to every bite.

In vision therapy, patients sometimes report visual distortions that can even alter how they experience food, showing how interconnected vision and taste are in creating our full sensory experience.

6. Vision and Proprioception (Body Awareness)

Proprioception refers to our ability to sense the position and movement of our body. Vision plays a crucial role in guiding our movements and helping us maintain balance. When you close your eyes and stand on one leg, maintaining balance becomes much harder because you lose the visual feedback your brain depends on to stay upright.

Vision therapy sessions often include exercises that work on proprioceptive integration. For example, catching a ball or balancing on a wobble board can train the eyes and body to communicate better and improve overall coordination.

7. Vision and Interoception (Internal Body Sense)

Interoception is our ability to sense the internal state of our bodies—things like hunger, thirst, heartbeat and ease of breathing. While it may not seem directly related to vision, interoception and sight often intersect in the realm of self-awareness and emotional regulation. When we are ooverwhelmed or anxious, we tend to scan our surroundings more rapidly, our vision narrowing as our fight-or-flight response kicks in.

By practicing mindfulness alongside vision therapy procedures, we can actually train our visual system to calm down, which in turn soothes our nervous system and improves our awareness of the internal state of our body. Vision is a powerful tool in helping us connect with how we feel physically and emotionally.

8. Vision and Balance (Vestibular Sense)

Balance and vision are tightly linked, particularly through the vestibular system located in the inner ear. The vestibular system helps us maintain our balance and it relies heavily on input from our eyes. When visual signals conflict with vestibular input (like when reading in a moving car or trying to focus on the horizon while on a gently rocking boat), we can feel disoriented or dizzy—this is known as motion sickness.

In vision therapy, balance training is a key component, particularly for patients with visual or vestibular issues. Exercises that combine eye movements with body balance can retrain the brain to coordinate the two senses more effectively.

As a vision therapist, I often remind my patients that vision is much more than clear eyesight—it’s a whole-body experience. When we address visual challenges, we are also improving coordination, balance, auditory processing and even emotional regulation.

One of the most rewarding aspects of vision therapy is seeing how improvements in vision ripple out to all other areas of life. A child who strengthens their visual skills may suddenly find themselves better at sports, more focused in school, more confident in social situations, keeping their place while reading, enjoying art and drawing again or even riding a bike with newfound coordination. A teenager who once struggled with constant headaches and screen fatigue might begin to enjoy learning again, participate more in class and feel a renewed sense of self-belief. An adult recovering from a brain injury may notice that improved visual processing helps them regain their sense of independence, allowing them to navigate their world with greater ease—whether it’s driving again, cooking with confidence, using a computer without fatigue or simply feeling less overwhelmed in busy environments. Another adult, after years of avoiding certain tasks due to double vision or disorientation, may suddenly feel free to return to work, pick up a forgotten hobby or travel with greater confidence and joy.

Through a holistic approach, vision therapy taps into the incredible ability of the brain to adapt, rewiring neural pathways and integrating vision with the rest of the sensory system.

In the end, vision is about so much more than just about seeing—it’s about how we experience and interact with the world. It connects with every other sense to create a complete, dynamic picture of our reality. As a vision therapist, my goal is to help patients unlock the full potential of their visual system, knowing that when their sight improves, so too does their ability to hear, feel, move, taste and connect.

Whether we as humans are aware of it or not, the neural networks of our brain are constantly integrating the sensory inputs from our eyes, ears, nose, skin and body, creating a rich tapestry of experience that guides our every move, thought and interaction.

Vision is at the heart of that network of communication, leading the dance of seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, tasting and sensing where we are in space while moving with balance and flow.