Monday Week 3 Flashcards
What are generator potentials
These are graded potentials of the special senses
How is the receptor for olfaction different than other special sense receptors?
The olfactory receptors are a specialized neuron, whereas the other special sense receptors aren’t neurons.
How long does the olfactory receptor neuron fire?
Until the stimulus is removed.
Describe the pathway of olfaction from receptor to cerebrum
Chemicals in the air bind to olfactory receptor cells, which are part of the olfactory epithelium in the superior nasal concha. The axons penetrate the cribriform plate of the ethmoid bone. The first synapse occurs in the olfactory bulb. Axons then travel along the olfactory tract to the olfactory cortex then the hypothalamus and portions of the limbic system.
Describe the two layers of the olfactory organ
Superficial is the OLFACTORY EPITHELIA: this contains the olfactory receptor cells and basal cells (stem cells). Basal cells mature to replace the old olfactory receptor cells.
Deep is the LAMINA PROPRIA: this is areolar tissue, which of course, is vascularized and innervated. Also in this layer are Bowman’s glands, whose secretions absorb water and form mucous.
What is the mechanism of olfactory reception leading to an action potential?
These are G-protein coupled receptors. When an operant binds, it activates the G protein, which activates adenylate cyclase. Adenylate cyclase converts ATP to cAMP. cAMP opens sodium channels in the plasma membrane, causing depolarization. If the depolarization is sufficient, an action potential is triggered.
Olfactory receptors are dispersed on the mucous membrane for even _____1____, but bundled by kind for ____2_____ routing to the CNS.
- Sampling
2. central
Where are taste receptors located?
Tongue and adjacent pharynx, and larynx.
What are lingual papillae?
These are epithelial projections for taste reception. There are four types, three of which contain taste buds.
What are the 4 lingual papillae?
Which contain the taste buds?
Describe each.
vallate, foliate, fungiform, and filiform
All but the filiform, which are used more for friction.
Vallate: These are the big ones, pencil eraser shaped and contain about 100 taste buds.
Foliate: Found on posterior margins
Fungiform: Small, button shaped, and contain about 5 taste buds each.
What structure of the tongue prevents over ingestion of water?
Water receptors, which are stimulated by drinking water.
They signal to the hypothalamus, which controls antidiuretic hormone (ADH)
A taste bud is made up of what?
Many gustatory cells, which have hair like projections (microvilli) which extend out into the taste pore. Waiting to replace them are basal cells, which mature into transitional cells, and then gustatory cells. They turn over every 10 days.
Which tastes are humans most sensitive to?
Bitter (100,000x) and sour (1000x) than sweet or salty. This prevents ingestion of poison or ingestion of too much acid.
Which molecules are tasted as sweet? What is the mechanism of their reception?
sugars, aldehydes and ketones
These are g-protein coupled receptors which use a second messenger system to stimulate release of neurotransmitters.
Which molecules are tasted as sour? What is the mechanism of their reception?
protons
These cause depolarization directly through ion leak channels
Which molecules are tasted as umami? What is the mechanism of their reception?
amino acids
These are g-protein coupled receptors which use a second messenger system to stimulate release of neurotransmitters.
Describe the gustatory pathway to the cerebrum
After receptors respond to stimulation, cranial nerves 7, 9, and 10 carry the information to the solitary nucleus of the MO, where they synapse. The postsynaptic neurons cross over and enter the medial lemniscus of the MO, then travel up to the thalamus, where they synapse again. The information is then relayed to the gustatory cortex of the insula.
Describe the receptor cells of the internal ear
Hair cells: Their free surfaces are covered with processes which are mechanoreceptors. When fluid pushes them in one direction, it stimulates them, but pushing them in the other direction inhibits them.
What are the two kinds of equilibrium?
Static or dynamic
Describe the ossicles
The MALLEUS attaches at three points to the interior surface of the tympanic membrane.
The INCUS, the middle ossicle, attaches the malleus to the stapes.
The STAPES’s base is bound to the edges of the oval window like a plunger.
What are the two parts of the membraneous labrynth?
the vestibular complex, made up of the semicircular ducts, and the utricle and saccule (for equilibrium)
and the cochlear duct (for hearing)
What do the semicircular canals sense?
Where are the receptors located?
Rotation.
ampulla, which is an expanded region containing the cupula.
What is a cupula?
A flexible, elastic, gelatinous structure that extends the width of the ampulla. The hair cells are embedded here.
What fluid fills the semicircular canals?
endolymph
which movements are sensed by which canals?
anterior for yes
lateral for no
posterior for tilting side to side
What is the purpose of the utricle and saccule?
to sense gravity and linear acceleration
What are the receptors for the otolithic membrane? How do they get stimulated?
macula. They are covered in otoliths, which shift with gravitational pull and acceleration.
Describe the path of equilibrium sensation to the CNS
Hair cells monitor body position and motion. Sensory neurons in adjacent vestibular ganglia carry the info along the vestibular branch of cranial nerve VIII. The vestibular nuclei in the MO integrate sensory info from BOTH ears and relay that info to the cerebral cortex, cerebellum, and motor nuclei in the brain stem and spinal cord.
What is the purpose of the vestibular nuclei?
Integrating info about equilibrium arriving from both ears and sending it to the appropriate parts of the brain and then sending commands to motor nuclei in the brain stem and spinal cord.
Greater amplitude corresponds to what quality of sound?
Greater amplitude = louder sound
Give the sequence of events involved in hearing
See the figure on page 555.
Follow the path of sound wave to the CNS
Look on page 557
What is accommodation?
The lens changing its shape depending on the distance of the light source