Intro to the senses Flashcards

1
Q

5 special senses

A

vision, hearing, equilibrium, taste, and smell

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2
Q

4 somatic senses

A

touch, temperature, proprioception, nociception (pain and itch)

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3
Q

Receptors

A

cells that convert stimuli into electrical signals

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4
Q

what is the conversion from stimuli to electrical signals called?

A

transduction

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5
Q

what are the receptors for sensory systems?

A

neurons

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6
Q

what are the receptors for hearing

A

non-neuronal epithelial cells

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7
Q

receptor potential

A

this refers to the graded change in membrane potential caused by the conversion of stimulus energy

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8
Q

what happens after the receptor potential is triggered?

A

it may cause the receptor to release a neurotransmitter or if the receptor is a neuron, it may release an action potential

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9
Q

adequate stimulus

A

form of energy that the receptor is most responsive to

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10
Q

example of adequate stimulus

A

thermoreceptors are most sensitive to temperature

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11
Q

chemoreceptors

A

respond to specific molecules or ions

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12
Q

mechanoreceptors

A

respond to mechanical energy like pressure, vibration, gravity and sound

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13
Q

thermoreceptors

A

respond to temperature

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14
Q

photoreceptors

A

respond to light

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15
Q

receptor threshold

A

the weakest stimulus that illicit a response

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16
Q

perceptual threshold

A

the weakest stimulus that will cause a conscious perception

17
Q

what is the basic structure of a sensory system

A

primary neurons are the first neurons in the system

primary neurons synapse on the secondary sensory neuron

the secondary neurons synapse on the tertiaries

18
Q

what is the value of convergence

A

this means that the tertiary neuron is able to receive all the information from the several individual primary neurons

19
Q

why do we care about this value of convergence?

A

because it allows for efficient communication

20
Q

stimulus modality

A

sensory neurons carry information about what type of information is being carried, like if it is light, touch, or sound

21
Q

Modality by labeled lines

A

this basically means that the type of stimulus it is can also be identified by which types of axons carry them.

activity from neurons in the visual pathway mean light

activity from neurons in the auditory pathway mean sound

22
Q

phasic cells

A

respond to brief changes but then they stop after it becomes steady

23
Q

tonic cells

A

unlike phasic cells, they maintain their activity when the stimulus is steady, signalling the present level

24
Q

phasic-tonic cells

A

this is a combination of the 2 where they react in response to a change but don’t return all the way to zero but also carry information about its steady level

25
Q

are retinal cells phasic or tonic?

A

they are phasic

26
Q

what is an advantage to phasic signals

A

they make communication more efficient because our world is fairly stable we only really need to be paying attention to the changes that happen

27
Q

What are spatial changes? Why are they also efficient

A

these are differences between neighboring regions in space. it is able to tell the difference between one patch of area and one directly near the first.

if we pinch our skin- we are able to feel the pinch and also where we are not being pinched due to these spatial changes

28
Q

what is another name for spatial changes

A

contrast

29
Q

what is the name for the locations where there is strong contrast

A

edges

30
Q

how can sensory system make edges more noticeable?

A

by lateral inhibition

31
Q

lateral inhibition

A

cells can either inhibit their neighbors or inhibit the cells their neighbors excite

32
Q

what is the path to run for most sensory pathways

A

to the cortex via the thalamus

33
Q

which sensory pathway does not cross the thalamus?

A

the olfactory pathway bypasses thalamus and goes directly to the brain from the nose

34
Q

what are equilibrium pathways?

A

these are pathways that go from the thalamus to the cerebellum

35
Q

why does it make sense for equilibrium pathways to go to the cerebellum as opposed to the cortex

A

because the cerebellum has been known to strongly influence balance

36
Q

Fill in the blank.

Sensory Processing is ________.

A

inference.

37
Q

why is sensory processing inference

A

because our perceptions of the world is always educated guesses and our sense data is incomplete and ambiguous so the bran has to infer

38
Q

What does the kanizsa illusion reveal about our brains?

A

it shows that the brain mistrusts coincidences. our brain will see overlapping triangles because of the perfect alignments of the Vs and pacman figures