L8- Special Senses Flashcards
Transducer
Converts one energy to another form of energy
Sensory transduction
Converts a sensation into an action potential
- occurs in sensory receptors
What are the structural categories of sensory receptors?
- Free nerve endings
- Encapsulated nerve endings
- Specialized receptor cells
Free nerve ending sensory receptors
- normal dendrites
Sense: Pain, temperature, light touch,
Encapsulated nerve endings
- enclosed dendrites
Ex) pacinian corpuscle - pressure
Meissner’s corpuscle - light touch
Specialized receptor cells are
Rods and cones - light
Hair cells - balance & equilibrium
What are the two functional categories of sensory receptors?
- Type of energy transduced
- Type of information sent to brain
Thermoreceptors
Temperature
Mechanoreceptors
Deformation
Photoreceptors
Light
Chemoreceptors
Chemical
Nociceptors
Tissue damage ( pain receptors)
Proprioceptors
Body position, fine motor control
Ex) muscle spindle - stretch reflex
Golgi tendon organ - tension in tendon
Cutaneous receptors
Skin sensations
- touch/ pressure
- hot/cold
- pain
Special senses
Input from outside world (found in head region)
- sight, hearing, sound, taste, smell
Properties of sensory receptors
- Specificity
- binding due to specific characteristics - Sensitivity
- ability to detect low levels of energy - Range fractionation
- large range, of sensory input - Acuity
- discrimination- detecting two inputs
Receptive field
Region in the sensory periphery that will stimulate a sensory neuron
Difference b/w a small receptive field and a large receptive field
Small = more sensory neurons ➡️ more area in primary somatosensory field
Large = less amount of sensory receptors (neurons)
How is sensory information coded?
- Stimulus type
- receptors are stimulus specific - Intensity
- Ap frequency - Location
- Duration
- AP still arriving = stimulus present
- AP not arriving = stimulus isn’t present
Two ways of adaptation of sensory receptors
- Phasic receptors
- Tonic receptors
Phasic receptors
Fast adapting
- adapt to constant stimulus or fire when stimulus is applied/ removed ( after image)
Ex) odor, touch, temperature
Tonic receptors
Slow adapting / non adapting
Ex) pain
What are the two types of general senses?
Somatic sensory & visceral sensory
Somatic sensory input is from
Skin, skeletal muscle, joints