Response To Stimuli Flashcards
What is meant by a stimulus?
A detectable alteration in the internal/external environment that produces a change in an organism
What is a receptor?
A cell adapted to detect changes in the environment
What are the 3 main types of neurones?
Sensory neurones, motor neurones and relay/intermediate neurones
How is a plants response to stimuli different from an animal’s?
Their receptors produce chemicals whereas animal receptors send nerve impulses
What order of neurones follows after a stimulus has been detected by a receptor?
Sensory -> intermediate (CNS) -> motor
What direction do sensory and motor neurones travel in?
The sensory neurone travels from the receptor with the nerve impulse to the CNS and the intermediate neurone and the motor neurone travels from here to the effector, where a response will occur
What are the two main branches of the nervous system?
The peripheral nervous system and the central nervous system
What does the ANS branch off into?
Sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system I.e. “Fight or flight” or “rest and digest”
What does the PNS branch off into?
Voluntary nervous system (somatic) and autonomic nervous system
What is meant by a taxis?
A response whose direction is determined by the direction of the stimulus
What is an example of taxis with algae?
They move towards light (positive photo taxis) to maximise light energy for photosynthesis to manufacture their food
What is meant by a kinesis?
A form of response in which the organism does not move towards/away from a stimulus, but instead the more unpleasant the stimulus the more rapidly it moves and changes direction, resulting in an increase in random movements
What is meant by a tropism?
A growth movement of part of a plant in response to a directional stimulus e.g. Light
What is an example of tropism in plants?
Plant shoots growing towards light (positive phototropism) and plant roots growing away from light (negative phototropism)
What is an effector?
An organ that responds to stimulation by a nerve impulse resulting in a change or response e.g. Muscle contraction
What are the main sequence of events after a stimulus has been detected?
Stimulus -> receptor -> coordinator -> effector -> response
What is the pacinian corpuscle and where are they found?
Receptor that responds to changes in mechanical pressure only and occur deep in the skin and are most abundant on fingers, soles of feet and external genitalia
What is meant by a generator potential?
Depolarisation of the membrane of a receptor cell as a result of a stimulus
What are transducer cells?
Cells that convert a non-electrical signal e.g. light into a nervous signal and vice versa
What are the main features of the stretch-mediated sodium channel in the plasma membrane of the sensory neurone in the pacinian corpulse?
Their permeability to sodium changes when they change shape e.g. when they are stretched. At resting state they are too narrow to allow sodium ions to pass along them (P.C has a resting potential). When pressure is applied, membrane around neurone is stretched causing the channel to widen which allows an influx of sodium ions to diffuse into the neurone, and the membrane becomes depolarised and a generator potential is produce, in turn creating an action potential that passes along the neurone and then to the CNS via other neurones.