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special senses Flashcards

1
Q

sensory system

A

sensory receptors receive stimuli from the external or internal environment which is then carried by neural pathways to the brain or spinal cord

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2
Q

somatosensory system

A

part of the sensory system concerned with the conscious perception of touch, pressure, pain, temp, position, movement, and vibration, which arise from the muscles, joints, skin and fascia

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3
Q

somatic sensation

A

sensation from the skin, muscles, bones, tendons, and joints which is initiated by a series of different types of sensory receptors collectively knows as somatic receptors

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4
Q

somatic

A

relating to the body

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5
Q

stimulus modality

A

one aspect of a stimulus or what we perceive after a stimulus; particular form of sensory perception
ex. light, sound, temp, taste, pressure, smell

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6
Q

somatosensation

A

the process that conveys info regarding the body surface and its interaction with the environment

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7
Q

proprioception/kinesthesia

A

sense of posture and movement; a sensation of the position of your body parts and muscle contraction in space

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8
Q

modality

A

a particular form of sensory perception
- generate graded potentials called receptor potentials in response to a stimulus

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9
Q

photoreceptors

A

respond to light

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10
Q

mechanoreceptors

A

respond to pressure

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11
Q

thermoreceptors

A

respond to temp

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12
Q

auditory receptos

A

respond to sound

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13
Q

5 somatosensory receptors

A
  • meissner’s corpuscles
  • merkel’s corpuscles
  • free neuron ending
  • pacinian corpuscles
  • ruffini corpuscle
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14
Q

meissner’s corpuscles

A

rapidly adapting mechanoreceptors that respond to touch and pressure

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15
Q

merkel’s corpuscle

A

slowly adapting mechanoreceptors that respond to touch and pressure

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16
Q

free neuron ending

A

close to the surface
include nociceptors (pain), thermoreceptors (temp), mechanoreceptors (touch/pressure), slowly adapting mechanoreceptors

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17
Q

pacinian corpuscle

A

rapidly adapting mechanoreceptor that responds to vibration and deep pressure

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18
Q

ruffini corpuscle

A

slowly adapting mechanoreceptor that responds to skin stretch

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19
Q

how are the somatosensory receptors activated

A

stimulus activates receptor
in the distal end the cationic channels open and sodium flows down its conc gradient into the afferent neuron
results in a graded depolarization of the sensory receptor

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20
Q

2 types of sensory receptors

A
  1. located directly on the afferent fiber
    - sensory receptor located on the afferent neuron
  2. located on a specialized receptor cell
    - mechanoreceptor activated, graded depolarization of receptor cell; neurotransmitter released that binds to afferent neuron
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21
Q

graded potential

A

equivalent to epsp
small longer lasting depolarizations at the location of the sensory receptor in the periphery

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22
Q

what determines stimulus intensity

A

as stimulus intensity increases, more action potentials are generated at the axon terminal of the afferent neuron

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23
Q

what happens to a slowly adapting receptor (merkel’s) what a stimulus is applied

A

receptor potential is generated, it decays slightly but remains on during the entire time that the stimulus or the arm poke is occurring. when the stimulus is removed, it returns back to baseline

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24
Q

what happens to a rapidly adapting receptor (meissner’s) when a stimulus is applied

A

receptor immediately generates a receptor potential, then quickly decays back to baseline. another receptor potential is generated when the stimulus turns off

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25
3 factors that affect ability to localize a stimulus
- receptive field size - the extent of the body which senses the poke - density of innervations - the number of sensory receptors within a certain area - overlapping receptive fields
26
lateral inhibition
related to overlapping receptive fields; helps identify the specific site of a stimulus - info from afferent neurons whose receptors are at the edge are strongly inhibited compared to the info from the center
27
what role does the cortex play in the control of afferent info
provides inhibition to the sensory fibers and the projection neurons which are travelling up to the brain and "turns down" the volume on these neurons and inhibits them, reducing the effect of a stimulus
28
where does all the info from the periphery travel to
the somatosensory cortex via a projection neuron
29
anterolateral system/spinothalamic tract
- first synapse located in the dorsal horn of the grey matter of spinal cord on same side of body which was stimulated - secondary neuron crosses over to the other side of the cns at the level of the spinal cord - secondary neuron synapses with projection neuron in the thalamus which travels to somatosensory cortex -- painful info crosses immediately and travels up the contralateral side of the body
30
dorsal column system
- first synapse between the sensory neuron and the secondary neuron is in the brainstem - secondary neuron crosses over to the other side of the cns at the level of the brainstem - secondary neuron synapses with projection neuron in the thalamus which travels to somatosensory cortex -- touch info travels up the spinal cord on the same side of the body as the stimulation
31
where is somatosensory system info taken
to the somatosensory cortex
32
photoreceptors in the eye are depolarized at
rest
33
photoreceptors in the eye are hyperpolarized when
activated
34
optical component of eye
responsible for focusing the visual image on the receptor cell; the front part of the eye
35
neural component of eye
the back part of the eye where the photoreceptors are located; transforms the visual image into a pattern of graded potentials and action potentials
36
sclera
the white part of the eye; the membrane surrounding the eyeball
37
extraocular muscle
attached to the sclera; responsible for eye movements
38
cornea
where the sclera becomes clear at the very front of the eye; responsible for refracting light waves
39
pupil
the hole that allows light to pass through into the back of the eye
40
iris
regulates the size of the pupil and amount of light entering eyeball; gives your eyes color
41
lens
behind the iris; works with the cornea to focus the visual image on the retina; the shape and size of the lens can change
42
zonular fibers
attached to the lens; attached to the ciliary muscles
43
ciliary muscles
can contract/relax lens; change the shape of the lens
44
retina
located behind the lens, against back of the eye; where the photoreceptors are found
45
rods
activated in low light conditions and are monochromatic
46
cones
activated when there is more light present and are responsible for color vision
47
retinal ganglion cells
activated by the rods and cones; take info back towards the brain
48
optic nerve
leaves through the back of the eyeball towards the thalamus and the cortex; made of axons of retinal ganglion cells
49
aqueous humour
a gelatinous fluid that fills the space between the lens and the cornea
50
vitreous humor
a gelatinous fluid found behind the lens
51
what happens when an object comes very close to the eyes
the ciliary muscles contract which cause the lens to get fatter and shorter and increases the amount of refraction, allowing the visual image to focus on the back of the retina
52
accommodation
the process of using the ciliary muscles in the lens in order to focus on objects that are very close; lose the ability at around 45 due to breakdown of ciliary muscles
53
presbyopia
loss of elasticity of the lens resulting in the inability to accommodate for near vision; due to breakdown of ciliary muscles (age-related)
54
myopia
nearsightedness eyeball is too long and too much refraction occurs at the level of the lens in order to focus the visual image on the back of the retina - corrected with concave shape
55
hyperopia
farsightedness eyeball is too short and the visual image is reconstructed behind the retina - corrected with convex shape
56
astigmatism
oblong shape of eyeball
57
glaucoma
damage to the photoreceptors due to increased intraocular pressure - buildup of aqueous humour which pushes back on the lens; the lens in turn pushes back on the vitreous humour which in turn pushes back on the retina and the photoreceptors damaging them
58
cataracts
clouding of the lens age-related cell of the lens die and debris builds up within them causing a graying of the lens and the inability to see clearly
59
3 interneurons rods and cons are connected to
horizontal bipolar amacrine cells
60
how are photoreceptors activated when light is not present
- guanylyl cyclase (enzyme) converts GTP into cGMP - cGMP-gated cation channel gets ligand activated with presence of cGMP - cGMP binds to its receptor on the cation channel; opening and allowing sodium and calcium into the cell - photoreceptor depolarizes
61
how are photoreceptors activated when light is present
- disk of cones contain photopigment which contains a chromophore called retinal - when light hits the photopigment, retinal change conformation activated cGMP phosphodiesterase - cGMP phosphodiesterase breaks down cGMP into GMP - cGMP removed so ion channel closes - photoreceptor is hyperpolarized
62
what takes info from the retina towards the cortex
retinal ganglion cell
63
OFF pathway
- relative depolarization of the photoreceptor (-35mV) - graded potentials generated and result in glutamate released - glutamate activates OFF bipolar cell, resulting in a lot of glutamate onto the OFF retinal ganglion cell - action potential generated in the OFF retinal ganglion cell, to cortex - glutamate inhibits ON bipolar cells - very little glutamate is released from the ON bipolar cell onto the ON retinal ganglion cell - no action potential at ON retinal ganglion cell
64
ON pathway
- relatively hyperpolarized (-70mV) - little glutamate released from photoreceptor - little glutamate does not activate OFF pathway - ON bipolar cell activated from reduced glutamate - graded potentials generated in ON bipolar cells - glutamate released from ON bipolar cells activates ON retinal ganglion cells - action potential generated and travels down its axon towards the lateral geniculate nucleus
65
photoreceptors and bipolar cells:
undergo graded responses lack voltage-gated sodium channels needed to generate an action potential
66
ganglion cells:
have voltage-gated sodium channels first cell is the pathway where action potentials can be initiated
67
key difference between on and off pathway (what happens in the absence of input)
bipolar cells of the ON pathway spontaneously depolarize in the absence of input bipolar cells of the OFF pathway hyperpolarize in the absence of input
68
how does info from the lateral field of view travel
info from lateral field of view -> nasal region of the retina -> crosses to the contralateral side of the optic chiasm -> lateral geniculate nucleus -> visual cortex
69
how does info from the medial field of view travel
info from medial field of view -> temporal part of the retina -> travels on the same side (ipsilateral) to the lateral geniculate nucleus -> visual cortex
70
pinna
the physical or external ear that resides outside the head
71
temporal lobe
contains the auditory cortex
72
zones of compression
regions where air molecules are tightly packed or close together
73
zones of rarefraction
regions where there are relatively few air molecules
74
how is amplitude determined
determined by how many air molecules are located within one of the zones of compression or the difference between the pressure of molecules in the zones of compression and rarefraction
75
how is frequency determined
determined by the distance between the zones of compression or the number of zones of compression or rarefraction in a given time
76
tympanic membrane
outer ear; vibrates in and out as air molecules push against it
77
cochlea
inner ear
78
bones in the middle ear
malleus, incus, stapes act as levers and amplify sound
79
skeletal muscle attached to the malleus
tensor tympani muscle
80
skeletal muscle attached to the stapes
stapedius muscle
81
3 compartments of inner eat
scala vestibuli - top; filled with perilymph cochlear duct - middle; filled with endolymph; where sensory receptors are located scala tympani - bottom; filled with perilymph
82
sound transmission in the ear
sound waves into external auditory canal -> move typmanic membrane -> moves bones in the middle ear -> stapes pushes against the oval window -> perilymph moves towards the end of the cochlear duct (helicotrema) and down towards scala tympani --- movement of fluid down to scala tympani results in activation of the sensory receptors for the auditory system ---
83
hair cells
located in the cochlear duct/organ of corti - single row inner hair - three row outer hair
84
organ of corti
a specialized sensory epithelium that allows for the transduction of sound vibrations into neural signals
85
stereocilia
attached to inner hair - extend into the endolymph and transduce pressure waves caused by fluid movement in the cochlear duct into receptor potentials attached to outer hairs - attach to the tectorial membrane when they move, a mechanically-gated potassium channel opens (how auditory receptors are activated and depolarize)
86
when the stereocilia are bent towards the tallest member of a bundle
mechanically-gated cation channels open, potassium flows into the cell, generates a graded potential in the hair cell, neurotransmitter glutamate is released onto the afferent neurons (vestibulocochlear nerve)
87
hearing aids
an amplifier which is placed in the auditory canal wich activates the existing auditory machinery
88
cochlear implant
for people who have damage to certain components of the outer, middle, or inner ear speaker is put on outside of head that picks up noises and transduces them into electrical impulses, sent to vestibulocochlear nerve

physiology (12 decks)

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