Eyes Flashcards
CNS:
Brain & Spinal Cord
Contains what
Contains Integration Centers that organize and prioritize sensory input that enters from the periphery
PNS:
Cranial & Spinal Nerves
Brings sensory in to the CNS, and carries motor/effector messages out.
Cranial nerves =
sensory, motor, or both
Spinal nerves =
“mixed”– both sensory and motor
Sensation:
the triggering of a sensory receptor to fire, and that firing being communicated to neurons within the central nervous system.
Perception:
How the brain interprets sensory inputs that it receives.
In this way, “Sensation” is processed to create “_________”– not always the same thing.
Perception
Sensory receptors are ….
cells that generate graded potentials called RECEPTOR POTENTIALS in response to a stimulus.
Receptors typically have a _______ _______ range that they respond to.
specific stimulus
There are five major types of sensory receptors based on the type of stimuli that they respond to:
- Mechanoreceptors
- Thermoreceptors
- Photoreceptors
- Chemoreceptors
- Nociceptors- pain
Bipolar Cell:
1 cell to 1 interneuron
Coding
the conversion of a stimulus into an signal that is conveyed to the central nervous system, where it is perceived.
In sensory coding, Information is conveyed by both the ________ and _________ of the resulting signals.
frequency and amplitude
A stimulus that persists will cause ……
repeated action potentials, which happen as frequently as the nerve can repolarize.
A more intense stimulus causes…..
slide 17
more frequent neuronal firing.
More intense stimuli =
more frequent action potentials.
More intense stimuli usually =
a larger affected area, which causes action potentials in more afferent neurons (recruitment).
Increasing the surface area that’s stimulated causes firing of more action potentials. Your brain perceives this as a ______ _______ ________.
more intense stumulus.
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Lateral inhibition enhances the ________ between the center and periphery of a stimulated region, thereby increasing the brain’s ability to localize a sensory input.
Lateral inhibition enhances the contrast between the center and periphery of a stimulated region, thereby increasing the brain’s ability to localize a sensory input.
in lateral inhibition, Exact localization is possible because
lateral inhibition removes the information from the peripheral regions.
The afferent sensory neuron is the beginning of a chain of neurons that form an _______ _______ to the CNS.
*ascending pathway
Processing of afferent information does not end in the primary receiving areas of the cerebral cortex; it continues from these areas to ______ ________ in the cerebral cortex where complex integration occurs.
*association areas
Central control of sensory information (e.g., inhibition of pain messages) occurs via _______ _______, from the CNS to the sensory (afferent) neuron.
descending pathways
Those descending pathways carry an inhibitory message from the brain to pain fibers in the skin.
Ascending pathways involve three or more ______, and always involve at least one __________ (remember, interneurons are the most numerous of neurons).
neurons, interneuron
Most pathways are ________– carrying only one type of message. These travel to the thalamus and brainstem (except for smell!)
specific
Smell is specific, but it sends messages to two places:
to the limbic system (“the emotional brain”) and straight to the olfactory cortex.
This is partly why smells can evoke such strong memories and feelings.
Some afferent messages also join with other afferent messages to activate _______ pathways.
nonspecific
Their purpose: control alertness or awareness–
The _______ _______ _______ relies upon various association areas of the cortex to properly process sensory information.
primary somatosensory cortex
Association areas close to the somatosensory cortex do …..
broad, basic message processing.
Association areas further away process in a …..
complex, “fine tuning” way.
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Complex perceptual processing involves ….
arousal, attention, learning, memory, language, and emotions… but also comparison of the information presented via one type of sensation with that presented through another.
Factors that Affect Perception
Receptor adaptation and afferent processing
Emotions and experiences
Not all stimuli give rise to a conscious sensation
For example: stretch receptors monitor blood pressure in several large arteries
Lack of receptors for certain stimuli
For example: radio waves
Damaged neural pathways
Drugs
The eyes are composed of:
An optical component,
which focuses the visual image on the receptor cells
The eyes are composed of:A neural component,
which transforms the visual image into a pattern of action potentials
Wavelength =
how long one complete wave is.