Chapter 15- Special Senses Flashcards
What does the olfactory system do?
Allows for the detection of odorants in the air and transduces them into signals perceived as odors
Where is olfaction initiated?
At olfactory epithelium
What are the cells of the olfactory epithelium that are involved in olfaction?
Olfactory neurons- modified bipolar neurons, which respond to certain chemicals in the air
Basal cells- stem cells that continually replace olfactory neurons and have a loimited lifespan of 30-60 days
Supporting cells- columnar cells that surround olfactory neurons
What is the anatomical structure of the olfactory epithelium?
Olfactory nerve- combined axons of olfactory neurons
Olfactory bulb- location of synapses with next neurons in the pathway
Olfactory tract- composed of axons that exit olfactory bulb and travel to other regions of the CNS for interpretation
What is the physiology of olfaction? How is a chemical odorant transduced into a neural signal?
- Odorants are dissolved in the mucus surrounding olfactory neurons’s cilia
- Odorant binding proteins transport odorants to receptors on the olfactory cilis
- Binding of an odorant to its receptor activated a G protein
- The activated G protein triggers enzyme adenylate cyclase to convery ATP to cyclic AMP (cAMP)
- cAMP opens ion channels that allow sodium and calcium to enter the cell causing depolarization and an action potential is generated if threshold is reached
What is the olfactory pathway to the CNS?
- The axons of olfactory neurons carry olfactory stimuli to the olfactory bulb in the CNS. The axon terminals synapse on mitral cells in the olfactory bulb
- An olfactory stimulus travels from the olfactory bulb to the primary olfactory complex in the temporal lobe
What is the only sensory pathway that does not synapse in the thalamus?
Olfaction
What are the cells involved in gustation (taste buds)?
Gustatory taste cells- specialized epithelial cells with microvilli that contain receptors that detect different tastes
Basal cells- are stem cells that differentiate into new gustatory cells, which have a lifespan of 10-14 days
Supporting cells- surround the gustatory cells and have no role in sensation
What are the special receptor cells that detect taste?
Taste buds
Does gustation involve chemoreceptors? Olfaction?
Yes and yes
Vallate (circumvallate) papillae?
Largest and dome shaped; each contains hundreds of taste buds
Fungiform papillae?
Are mushroom shaped and contain only a few taste buds
Foliate papillae?
Ridges on the sides of the tongue and contain taste buds only in childhood
Filiform papillae?
Long, thin cylinders scattered across the tongue. Do not contain taste buds but have sensory nerve endings that detect the texture and temperature of food
Where do sensory neurons of gustation carry taste stimuli?
To CNS via CN VII, CN IX, and CN X
What are the taste sensations?
Sweet Sour Salty Bitter Umami
When is taste stimuli detected?
When they bind to receptors on the microvilli of gustatory cells (taste buds)
What process occurs to activate taste receptors?
- Changes in ion movements depolarize the gustatory plasma membrane. Ion movement depends on particular space. The decreased K ions moving out of the cell produces depolarization
- Depolarization of the membrane opens voltage gated Ca ion channels, and calcium enters the cell
- The Ca ions trigger the release of neurotransmitters, which produce an action potential in the axon of the sensory neuron
Do gustatory cells trigger an action potential?
No, gustatory cells usually do not generate an action potential because they are small enough that the local potential can quickly spread across their membrane
How do taste stimuli travel to the CNS?
- Axons of the facial, glossopharyngeal, and vagus nerves carry taste stimuli from the tongue into the CNS.
- Axons of these three nerves terminate in the solitary nucleus in the medulla oblongata by synapsing on central sensory neurons
- Axons from the solitary nucleus synapse on neurons in the thalamus, which then send the taste signals to the primary gustatory cortex in the parietal lobe
What are the three layers of the eyeball?
Fibrous
Vascular
Neural (retina)
What structures are within the fibrous layer?
- Sclera: The white part of the eye, covers 5/6ths of its surface; opaque
- Cornea: Sclera is continuous with cornea; translucent
Function of sclera?
Has numerous irregularly shaped collagen fibers, which allow it to resist deformation from external and internal forces and maintain its shape
Function of cornea?
Because the cornea is translucent, it plays an important role in admitting light into the eye and focusing it
What are the structures of the vascular layer?
- Choroid
- Ciliary body- Continuous anteriorly with choroid
- Iris
Function/description of choroid?
- Most extensive component of vascular layer
- Contains many tiny blood vessels called capillaries as well as a pigment to reduce the scattering of light
Function/description of ciliary body?
- Contains a ring of smooth muscle that surrounds the lens
- Suspensory ligaments connect ciliary body to the lens
- Contraction and relaxation of smooth muscle changes the shape of the lens to focus light on the retina
Functions/ description of iris?
- Colored portion of eye
- Contains pigment melanin
- Surrounds circular pupil, which is an opening that light passes through
What are the two muscles of the iris?
- Pupillary sphincter- muscle contracts following parasympathetic stimulation and constricts the pupil to reduce amount of light entering the eye
- Pupillary dilator- muscle contracts following sympathetic stimulation. Enlarges pupil to permit the entrance of light thorugh eye
What are the structures of the neural layer?
- The retina
- Photoreceptor cells (rods and cones)
- Fovea centralis
- Macula lutea
- Optic disc
- Ora serrata
Where are the photorecpetor cells that detect the presence of light and produce a neural signal located?
The retina
What is the fovea centralis?
An area in the retina that contains a high density of photoreceptors (cones) relative to the rest of the eye. It allows for extremely detailed vision enabling us to focus on a particular object
What is the macula lutea?
Yellowish central region of fovea; contains a large number of photoreceptors (cones)
What is the optic disc?
The location where the optic nerve exits from the retina. It does not contain photoreceptors, so it is called the blind spot
Where is aqueous humor located?
Within the anterior cavity (includes both the anterior and posterior chamber)
Where is the vitreous humor located?
Within the posterior cavity
What is vitreous humor?
A gelatinous material that is within the posterior cavity. It presses the retina against the choroid and helps maintain the shape of the eyeball.
What is aqueous humor?
A watery substance within the anterior and posterior chambers.
What happens if aqueous humor does not drain properly?
Glaucoma
What does emmetropic mean?
When the eye is relaxed and focusing on a distant object (normal eye)
What is accommodation?
When the lens increases total refraction by changing its shape from flattened to round. When the lens is rounded, its curved surface refracts light to a greater extent and can focus it on the retina