Midterm 2 Lecture 8 Flashcards

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1
Q

what are Sensory Receptors Cells (also known just as Sensory Receptors)

A

specialized neurons that detect a specific category of physical events

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2
Q

how do what are Sensory Receptors Cells accomplish their task

A

accomplish this task with receptor proteins that are sensitive to specific sensory stimuli, specific features of the extracellular environment

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3
Q

what are the receptor proteins that Sensory Receptors have

A
the presence of specific molecules (via chemical interactions) 
– physical pressure
– temperature
– pH (acidity, basicity)
– electromagnetic radiation (photons)
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4
Q

what does the protein that senses the presence of specific molecules (via chemical interactions) do

A

• smell, taste (except for sour), hunger, thirst, nausea, pain

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5
Q

what does the protein that senses physical pressure sense

A

• touch, stretch, vibration, acceleration, gravity, balance, hearing, thirst, pain

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6
Q

what does the protein that senses temperature proteins sense

A

• heat, cold, pain

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7
Q

what does the protein that senses pH (acidity, basicity) sense

A

• sour taste, suffocation, pain

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8
Q

what does the protein that senses electromagnetic radiation (photons) sense

A

• vision, sunburn

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9
Q

do all organisms sense the same things

A

Some non-human animals have other senses, such as the ability to detect electrical and magnetic fields, humidity, and water pressure.

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10
Q

what is Sensory transduction

A

Process by which sensory stimuli are transduced (converted) into receptor potentials
(how the organism senses stuff)

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11
Q

what are Receptor potential

A

Graded change in the membrane potential of a sensory neuron (sensory receptor cell) produced in response to sensory stimuli

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12
Q

what are Sensory Receptor (Cell)

A

Specialized neuron that detects a particular category of physical events (sensory stimuli).
E.g., photoreceptor (cells) transduce light into receptor potentials

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13
Q

what is the order of sensory transduction

A

Sensory transduction
Receptor potential
Sensory Receptor (Cell)

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14
Q

do all sensory receptor cells have action potentials

A

Not all sensory receptor cells have action potentials, but they all release neurotransmitter.

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15
Q

The sensory receptor cells that do not have action potentials tend to release neurotransmitter in what fashion

A

a graded fashion, dependent on their membrane potential. The more depolarized they are, the more neurotransmitter-filled vesicles they release

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16
Q

what are Photoreceptor (cell)

A

The sensory receptor (cell) responsible for vision. Located in the retina, photoreceptor cells transduce the electromagnetic energy of photons into receptor potentials.

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17
Q

Each photoreceptor cell contains how many types of opsin protein.

A

one

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18
Q

Since humans have 4 different types of opsin proteins, we have how many types of photoreceptor cells

A

we have 4 different types of photoreceptor cells

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19
Q

what is Opsin

A

A type of protein that, in conjunction with retinal, is responsible for the transduction of visual information (i.e., light). The opsins found in humans are all inhibitory metabotropic receptors. Rod photoreceptor cells express the rod opsin (rhodopsin). Cone photoreceptor cells express one of the cone opsins (red, blue or green).

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20
Q

what is Retinal

A

Small molecule (synthesized from vitamin A) that binds to opsin proteins. In mammals, retinal is the actual molecule that absorbs the energy of photons. The type of light that retinal can interact with is dependent on the opsin protein that retinal is bound to.

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21
Q

Visible light refers to electromagnetic energy that has a wavelength between 380 and 760 nm. We detect this light using four kinds of photoreceptor cells , what are they

A

1 rod cell & 3 cone cells

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22
Q

what is the fovea

A

the area that cones detect light/color in the centrea

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23
Q

The three cone opsins are sensitive to different wavelengths of light: explain the blue cone

A

blue cone opsins are most sensitive to short wavelengths

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24
Q

The three cone opsins are sensitive to different wavelengths of light: explain the green cone

A

green cone opsins are most sensitive to medium wavelengths

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25
Q

The three cone opsins are sensitive to different wavelengths of light: explain the red cone

A

red cone opsins are most sensitive to long wavelengths

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26
Q

The amount that any one cone will be activated depends on what

A

both on the wavelength of the light and the amount of it (its intensity). If shown three colors separately (blue, green, and red) at the same intensity, people often say the green light is brighter. This is because green cone opsins are the most sensitive to light

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27
Q

what is Trichromatic Coding

A

colour is made up of three colours (Red, blue and green), when the overlap the can look like a different colour when really they are juts a mixture of 2-3 of the colours

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28
Q

Our perception of light and color has three dimensions to it: what are they

A

Brightness
Saturation
Hue

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29
Q

what is Brightness

A

– intensity

(luminance, amount)

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30
Q

what is Saturation

A

– purity (in terms of
composite wavelengths)

aka is it more white or the colour… think about the cone)

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31
Q

what is Hue

A

– dominant wavelength (color)

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32
Q

If brightness is 0%, what happens

A

your image will be all black. Hue and saturation have no impact if there is no brightness

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33
Q

If saturation is 0%, what happens

A

you are in the middle of the color cone where there is no color (equal contribution from all wavelengths) which means you have a black and white image

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34
Q

what are the 3 types of colour blindness

A

Protanopia
Deuteranopia
Tritanopia

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35
Q

what is Protanopia

A

Absence of the red cone opsin (1% of males). Visual acuity is normal because red cone cells get filled with green cone opsin.
People with this inherited condition have trouble distinguishing colors in the green-yellow-red section of the spectrum.
Simple mutations in of the red cone opsin (1% of males) produce less pronounced deficits in color vision.

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36
Q

what is Deuteranopia

A

Absence of the green cone opsin (1% of males). Visual acuity is normal because green cone cells get filled with red cone opsin. People with this inherited condition have trouble distinguishing colors in the green-yellow-red section of the spectrum.
Simple mutations in of the green cone opsin (6% of males) produce less pronounced deficits in color vision.

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37
Q

what is Tritanopia

A

Absence of the blue cone opsin (1% of the population). Blue cone cells do not compensate for this in any way, but the blue cone opsin is not that sensitive to light anyway, so visual acuity is not noticeably affected

38
Q

what is The cornea

A

is the outer, front layer of the eye. It is transparent and admits light

39
Q

what is The conjunctiva

A

is a mucous membranes that line the eyelid

turns into the sclera at the back of the eye

40
Q

what is The sclera

A

is opaque and does not permit entry of light

41
Q

what is The iris

A

is a pigmented ring of muscles

42
Q

what is The lens

A

consists of several transparent layers. The shape of the lens can change to allow the eye to focus, a process known as accomodation

43
Q

what is The pupil

A

regulates the

amount of light entering the eye. It is an opening in the iris

44
Q

what are the types of Movement of the Eye

A

Saccadic and Pursuit

45
Q

what is Pursuit

A

Pursuit movements allow us to maintain an image of a moving object

46
Q

what is Saccadic movements

A

– rapid, jerky shifts in your gaze from one point to another. Our eyes scan a scene by making saccadic movements.

47
Q

The interior lining (furthest back part) of the eye is the what

A

retina

48
Q

The interior lining (furthest back part) of the eye is the retina. The retina contains what

A

photoreceptors

49
Q

In humans, photoreceptors are classified as what

A

rods or cones

50
Q

Rods are very sensitive to what

A

light (i.e. vision in the dark).

51
Q

Cones are not particularly sensitive to what

A

light

52
Q

Cones are not particularly sensitive to light, but because there are three different kinds of them, each sensitive to different wavelengths, the cones can do what

A

encode color vision

53
Q

Light passed through the lens and crosses what

A

the vitreous humor, a clear, gelatinous fluid.

54
Q

The central region of the retina is the what

A

fovea

55
Q

The central region of the retina is the fovea. It contains a high density of what

A

photoreceptors and thus mediates acute vision

56
Q

Site of blind spot is where

A

Site of blind spot is the optic disk

57
Q

Site of blind spot is the optic disk what is this

A

point at which the optic nerve exits through the back of the eye. It has no receptors

58
Q

give locations and response characteristics of photoreceptor cones

A

most prevalent in the central retina; founding fovea
sensitive to moderate-to-high levels of light
provide info about hue
provide excellent acuity

59
Q

give locations and response characteristics of photoreceptor rods

A

most prevalent int he peripheral retina; not found in the fovea
sensitive to low levels of light
provide only monochromatic info
provide poor acuity

60
Q

he fovea primarily contains cone cells, each of which connects to what

A

a single downstream collection of cells (a bipolar cell which in turn connect to a single ganglion cell).

61
Q

he fovea primarily contains cone cells, each of which connects to a single downstream collection of cells (a bipolar cell which in turn connect to a single ganglion cell). Thus, photoreceptors in the fovea can register the exact location of the input. This enables what

A

high resolution, color vision

62
Q

In the periphery, collections of photoreceptors (primarily rods, which use the opsin rhodopsin) converge onto fewer and fewer what

A

downstream collections of neurons (bipolar and ganglion cells)

63
Q

In the periphery, collections of photoreceptors (primarily rods, which use the opsin rhodopsin) converge onto fewer and fewer downstream collections of neurons (bipolar and ganglion cells). Although precise location and shape of input is heavily impeded, the periphery enables what

A

the perceptions of faint lights and general shapes (low resolution).

64
Q

Peripheral Vision has low what

A

low Spatial Frequency

65
Q

explain low Spatial Frequency

A

Images deficient in high frequency information look unfocused but we can still make out the form

People have poor visual acuity in their peripheral vision where most of light perception is mediated by rod cells.

The high visual acuity needed for reading is only possible in the fovea, which is primarily where the cone cells are located.

66
Q

explain Transduction of light into receptor potentials

A

Photoreceptor cells do not have action potentials.

They release glutamate in a graded fashion dependent on their membrane potential. The more depolarized they are, the more glutamate-filled vesicles they release.

Photoreceptor cells have sodium ion channels in their membrane which are open in the dark (when the cells are at rest).

Sodium continually enters through these ion channels, which depolarizes the photoreceptor cell membrane to about -40 mV. At this depolarized membrane potential, photoreceptor cells continuously release glutamate.

When the retinal portion of the retinal-opsin complex absorbs light, it causes a conformational change (change in shape) in the opsin receptor protein. This launches a g-protein signaling cascade that closes the open sodium ion channels. The closing of these channels hyperbolizes the membrane to -70 mV, at which point the photoreceptor cell largely stops releasing glutamate.

So, photoreceptor cells are more depolarized and release more glutamate in the dark than in the light.

67
Q

Like photoreceptor cells, bipolar cells also do not have what

A

action potentials

68
Q

Like photoreceptor cells, bipolar cells also do not have action potentials and release glutamate in a graded fashion dependent on their what

A

membrane potential

69
Q

There are two main types of bipolar cells what are they

A

OFF bipolar cell and ON bipolar cells

70
Q

explain OFF bipolar cells

A

have ionotropic glutamate receptors, and so they are depolarized by glutamate. Because photoreceptor cells constantly release glutamate in the dark, OFF bipolar cells are more active (more depolarized) in the dark than in the light.

71
Q

explain ON bipolar cells

A

only have inhibitory metabotropic glutamate receptors, so they are uncommonly inhibited by glutamate. Thus ON bipolar cells are more active (more depolarized) in the light vs the dark.

72
Q

And finally, retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) are fairly typical neurons. They are generally excited by what

A

glutamate and have action potentials

73
Q

The receptive field of a neuron (whether it is a photoreceptor cell, bipolar cell, ganglion cell, or a visual cell in the cerebral cortex) is what

A

the area of the visual field in which the presence of a stimulus influences the firing rate of that neuron (i.e. the part of space in which the light must fall for the neuron to be stimulated).

NOT part of the actual brain/person/subject… but rather what they are looking at

74
Q

To determine where a receptive field for a particular neuron is located what happens

A

an investigator can shine light in various locations in space while recording from the neuron as an animal focuses on a central fixation point.

75
Q

To determine where a receptive field for a particular neuron is located, an investigator can shine light in various locations in space while recording from the neuron as an animal focuses on a central fixation point.

If light in a particular spot excites the neuron then that location is part of what

A

the neurons excitatory receptive field (ON firing). Photoreceptor cells only exhibit ON firing.

76
Q

To determine where a receptive field for a particular neuron is located, an investigator can shine light in various locations in space while recording from the neuron as an animal focuses on a central fixation point.

If the light inhibits activity, the location is what

A

is in an inhibitory receptive field (OFF firing).

77
Q

Neurons downstream of photoreceptor cells respond to light in their receptive field with either what

A

ON firing or OFF firing

78
Q

Retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) show opposing changes in neural activity when light is where

A

in the center versus the surround of their receptive field

79
Q

ON cells are excited by light where

A

in the center and are inhibited by light in the surround

80
Q

OFF cells are excited by light where

A

in the surround and are inhibited by light in the center.

81
Q

what is a Bipolar cell

A

A bipolar neuron located in middle layer of retina, conveying information from photoreceptors to ganglion cells

82
Q

what is a Ganglion cell –

A

Neuron that receives visual information from bipolar cells; its axons give rise to the optic nerve, which heads back to the rest of the brain.

83
Q

what is a Horizontal cell –

A

Neuron that interconnects adjacent photoreceptors and the outer processes of bipolar cells. They regulate the excitability of photoreceptor cells to adjust light sensitivity.

84
Q

what is a Amacrine cell –

A

Neuron that interconnects adjacent ganglion cells and inner processes of bipolar cells. They are many different types of amacrine cells and they have many functions.

85
Q

explain colour vision and Opponent-Process Coding in Retinal Ganglion Cells (RGCs

A

Some retinal ganglion cells utilize a opponent-color system

Some color-sensitive RGCs respond in center-surround fashion. There are red-green RGCs and blue-yellow RGCs

86
Q

Each hemisphere of the brain receives information from where

A

the contralateral visual field.

87
Q

The optic nerves join where

A

at the base of the brain to form the x-shaped optic chiasm

88
Q

The axons from the RGCs serving the inner half of each retina (medial sides) goes where

A

cross through the chiasm to the opposite side of the brain.

89
Q

The axons of the RGCs serving the outer half of the retina (lateral sides) go where

A

remain on the same side of the brain.

90
Q

RGCs project directly to where

A

both the superior colliculi of the midbrain and lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) of the thalamus.

91
Q

The superior colliculi control what

A

fast visually-guided movements

92
Q

The superior colliculi control fast visually-guided movements. The pathway to the thalamus and then on to the cerebral cortex is involved in understanding what

A

what the visual information represents.