Sensory Physiology Flashcards
When the signal reaches our cerebral cortex
the stimulus enters our consciousness
when the signal does not reach the cerebral cortex
stimulus is processed without conscious awareness
Types of Sensory Receptors
- Chemoreceptors
- Mechanoreceptors
- Thermoreceptors
- Photoreceptors
Adequate Stimulus
the form of energy to which the sensory receptor is most responsive
Sensory Transduction
- stimulus changes membrane potential of the receptor cell
- can be depolarization or hyperpolarization
Neuron Receptors Response
- AP Firing
- slow or fast depending on myelination
Non-Neuron Receptors Response
- nt’s release
- receptor cell is specialized and releases vesicles of nt onto the neuron
- myelinated
Stimulus Modality Determinations
determined by
1. Sensory Receptor Type
2. Area of the brain that stimulus is sent
Labeled Line Coding
brain always associates the signal from a receptor with a specific modality
EX) photoreceptors always percieve stimulus as light, even when its pressure
Stimulus Convergence
- Large receptive fields
- Several 1* neurons converge onto a single 2* neuron
- we percieve two signals as one
Stimulus 2 Point Discrimination
- Smaller Receptive Fields
- Each 1* neuron has its own 2* neuron
- More spatial detail
Stimulus Lateral Inhibition
- 2* neurons inhibit adjacent neurons so that the full effect from the stimulus is recognizable from that one point
Population Coding
the number of receptors activated
Frequency Coding
the frequency of AP
Tonic Receptors
slow adaptation
