SENSES Flashcards
means by which the brain receives information about the environment and body
senses
process initiated by stimulating sensory receptors
sensation
conscious awareness of those stimuli
perception
what are the five senses
smell, touch, taste, vision, and hearing
two basic groups of senses
general senses and special senses
have receptors distributed over a large part of the body
general senses
divisions of general senses
somatic and visceral senses
provide sensory information about the body and environment
somatic senses
provide information about various internal organs primarily involving pain and pressure
visceral senses
the receptors of these senses are more specialized in structure and are localized to specific parts of the body
special senses
what are the special senses
touch, taste, smell, vision, and balance
are sensory nerve endings or specialized cells capable of responding to stimuli by developing action potentials
sensory receptors
respond to mechanical stimuli such as bending or stretching
mechanoreceptors
respond to chemicals such as odor molecules that allow us to perceive smell
chemoreceptors
respond to light
photoreceptors
respond to temperature changes
thermoreceptors
respond to stimuli that result in the sensation of pain
nociceptors
what are the general senses
touch, pressure, pain, temperature, vibration, itch, and proprioception
sense of movement and position of the body and limbs
proprioception
the simplest and most common types of sensory receptors are
free nerve endings
what are the receptors for temperature
cold or warm receptors
respond to decreasing temperatures but stop responding at temperatures below 12C or 54F
cold receptors
respond to increasing temperatures but stop responding at temperatures above 47C or 117F
warm receptors
structurally more complex than free nerve endings
touch receptors