Chapter 18 - General & Special Senses Flashcards
What are sensory receptors?
A specialized cell that sends sensations to CNS.
What are the types of sensory receptors?
Tonic and phasic.
What doe tonic receptors do?
Always sending signals to CNS.
What do phasic receptors do?
Becomes active only with changes in the conditions they monitor.
What are the types of receptors?
Chemoreceptors, nociceptors, thermoreceptors, mechanoreceptors, photoreceptors.
What is the function of chemoreceptors?
Taste and smell.
What is the function of nociceptors?
Cell damage (mechanical, electrical, thermal,).
What is the function of thermoreceptors?
Thermal.
What is the function of mechanorecepors?
Hearing, stretching, and body position.
What is the function of photoreceptors?
Light.
Receptor characteristics?
Receptive field and receptor specificity.
What are receptive fields?
Area monitored by a single receptor cell.
What is receptor specificity?
Each receptor responds to a specific stimulus (photoreceptor will not respond to a chemical stimulus).
What is sensation?
The sensory information arriving at the CNS.
What is perception?
Conscious awareness of sensation.
Perception characteristics?
All nerve impulses are identical, brain interprets impulses, and feeling that occurs when sensory impulses are interpreted.
Sensory adaptation characteristics?
Occurs when sensory receptors are subjected to continuous stimulation, results in a reduction of sensitivity, at some point along the pathway impulses are conducted at a decreased rate, there are several types.
What are the types of sensory adaptations?
Peripheral adaptation and central adaptation.
What is peripheral adaptation?
When sensory receptors decrease their level of activity.
What is central adaptation?
Sensory neurons are still active and CNS causes reduced perception.
What are sensory limitations?
Information from receptors is incomplete, do not have receptors for every stimulus, receptors have limited range, and stimulation requires a neural event that is interpreted.
What are some animals can detect that humans cannot?
Infrared, ultraviolet, ultrasonic, and magnetism.
What are general senses?
Do not have specialized receptor cells or sensory organs.
What are special senses?
Can have specialized receptor cells separate from the sensory neuron, structurally more complex, and receptors are localized in sense organs.