Lecture 4 - Sensation 3 Flashcards
What is the Haptic Sense?
The sense of touch - converts information about temperature, pressure, pain, and where our limbs are in space
What is Kinesthetic sense?
Perception of the positions in space and movements of our bodies and limbs
How can we sense touch?
Skin contains sensory receptors for touch - anything that touches skin provides tactile simulation. The integration of various signals and higher-level mental processes produce haptic experiences
How can we sense temperature?
There are sense receptors in our skin for warmth and cold
What is pain?
Pain is part of a warning system which stops you from continuing potentially harmful activities
How many nerve fibres have been identified for pain?
Two types - Fast fibres and Slow fibres
What are fast fibres for?
For sharp, immediate pain - activated by strong physical pressure and temperature extremes
What are slow fibres for?
For chronic, dull, steady pain - activated by chemical changes in tissue when skin is damaged
What is Gate Control Theory?
When pain receptors are activated, a neural “gate” opens in the spinal cord and allows pain signals to be
carried by nerve fibres - larger sensory nerve fibers can fire and close the gate, thus preventing pain perception
What factors does pain involve?
Biological, psychological and cultural
What are some ways you can close the pain gate?
Drug treatments (painkillers e.g ibuprofen) and Cognitive states (distraction, positive mood)
What are some ways you can open the pain gate?
Some mental processes e.g. worrying or focusing on the pain
What is Gustation?
The sense of taste
What are Taste Buds?
Sensory organs in the mouth that contain the receptors for taste
How do taste buds work?
Stimulated taste buds send signals to the thalamus and the frontal lobe of the brain, which then produces the experience of taste.
What 5 basic qualities compose every taste experience?
- Sweet
- Sour
- Salty
- Bitter
- Umami (Japanese for ‘savory’ or ‘yummy’)
What can influence taste preferences?
Cultural factors - based around social norms for food choice - these influences begin in the womb
What are Supertasters?
• Individuals who experience particularly intense taste sensations
• Largely genetically influenced – more common in women
• More likely to experience pain from spicy food, and to have aversions to certain foods
Do people retain all their taste buds for life?
No - People lose half of their taste buds by the age of 20 – which is why young children also show more aversion to foods
What is Olfaction?
The sense of smell
How does Olfaction work?
Odorants pass into the nose and nasal cavity, then contact a thin layer of tissue embedded with smell receptors called the olfactory epithelium
What is the Olfactory Epithelium?
A thin layer of tissue, within the nasal cavity, that contains the receptors for smell
What is the Olfactory Bulb?
The brain centre for smell - located below the frontal lobes
What are Pheromones?
Chemicals released by animals (likely including humans), that trigger physiological or behavioral reactions in other animals and insects
How can pheromones be detected?
Pheromones do not elicit a perception of smell - specialized receptors in the nasal cavity respond to the presence of pheromone
What is Synaesthesia?
It’s where sensation of one type leads to an automatic perception of another type
E.g. Grapheme-colour synaesthesia is a relatively common form where specific letters are always seen in a specific colour
