Chapters 30 and 31 Flashcards
Chapters 30 and 31
Sensory system
Portion of nervous system. In vertebrates, consists of sensory neurons, nerves, and brain regions for information processing.
Chapters 30 and 31
Stimulus
Form of energy that activates receptor endings of a sensory neuron
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Somatic sensations
Basically the 5 senses, except not. Taste, smell, hearing, vision, and balance. Responses to receptors near body surface and in skeletal muscle, joints, and walls of soft internal organs.
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5 classes of sensory receptors
Mechanoreceptors, pain receptors, thermoreceptors, chemoreceptors, osmoreceptors, and photoreceptors
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Mechanoreceptors
Detect mechanical energy (eg change in pressure, position, acceleration). Found in ears.
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Pain receptors
Detect tissue damage
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Thermoreceptors
Detect temperature change
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Chemoreceptors
Detect chemical energy of specific substances dissolved in the fluid surrounding them. Found in noses and tongue.
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Osmoreceptors
Detect change in concentration of solutes in a body fluid (eg blood)
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Photoreceptors
Detect forms of light energy. Contain pigment molecules that can absorb photon energy, which can be converted to excitation energy in a sensory neuron.
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How does brain figure out stimulus location and intensity, if all action potentials are always the same size?
It figures out which nerve pathways have action potentials, the frequency of action potentials in the pathway, and the number of axons activated by the stimulus.
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Sensory adaptation
When sensory neurons stop firing despite continued stimulation. eg putting on a sock.
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Pain
Perception of tissue injury. Somatic pain comes from skin, skeletal muscle, joints, and tendons. Visceral pain comes from internal organs.
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Olfaction
Sense of smell. Chemoreceptors bind substances and dissolve them in fluid around them. Receptor axons lead into one of two olfactory bulbs, where neurons sort components of scent before signaling cerebrum.
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Olfactory receptors
Detect water soluble or easily vaporized chemicals. Humans have 5 million, bloodhounds have 200 million.