Response to stimuli Flashcards
What is a stimulus?
A detectable change in the internal or external environment of an organism that leads to a response in the organism
What does the central nervous system consist of?
CNS consists of brain and spinal cord
What does the peripheral nervous system consist of?
Sensory nervous system and motor nervous system
What does the motor nervous system consist of?
Voluntary nervous system and autonomic nervous system
What does the voluntary nervous system do?
Carries impulses to body muscle, under voluntary control
What does the sensory nervous system do?
Carries nerve impulses from receptors to CNS
What does the autonomic nervous system do?
Carries nerve impulses from CNS to glands, cardiac and smooth muscles
What is the spinal cord?
A column of nervous tissue that runs along the back and lies inside the vertebral column for protection
What are the four types of receptors?
Photoreceptors, chemoreceptors, thermoreceptors and mechanoreceptors
What is the Pacinian Corpuscle and where is it found?
Mechanoreceptor, deep in the skin, typically on fingers, soles of feet and external genitalia
They are also found in joints, tendons and ligaments where they enable an organism to know which joints are changing direction
What’s the structure of a Pacinian Corpuscle?
Single sensory neurone in the centre, surrounded by layers of connective tissue with a viscous gel between the tissue layers
What type of sodium channel is in the plasma membrane of PC?
Stretch-mediated sodium channel
When does the PC have a resting potential?
In its normal resting state, when the sodium channels are too narrow to allow sodium ions to pass through
When are the sodium channels of PC widened?
When pressure is applied, it becomes deformed and the membrane around the neurone stretches
When is a generator potential produced?
When the sodium ions move into the PC
What does the generator potential do?
Creates an action potential (nerve impulse) that travels to CNS
What is the order of cells inside the retina?
Ganglion cells, bipolar neurones then rod and cone cells
How are rod and cone cells acting as transducers?
Conserving light energy into electrical energy of a nerve impulse
How many rod cells are there in each eye?
120 million roughly
Can rod cells distinguish between different wavelengths of light?
No, meaning they can not identify colour
Where are rod cells dense or absent?
Greater density at the periphery and absent at the fovea
What are rod cells used for?
Detect low light intensity, so are used to see in the dark or dim lighting