Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM


Top Flashcards (Certified)
All Flashcards

Physiology > Special senses > Flashcards

Special senses Flashcards

1
Q

sensory system

A

sensory receptors
nerve pathways

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

sensory receptors

A

peripheral end of afferent neuron
two types:
- on afferent
- on receptor cell (synapses with afferent)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

transduction

A

in response to a stimulus, receptors generate receptor potentials (graded potentials) that can initiate action potentials → travel into CNS

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

chemoreceptor

A

respond preferentially to chemical signals
oxygen, pH, various organic molecules

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

mechanoreceptor

A

respond preferentially to mechanical changes
pressure, cell stretch, vibration, acceleration, sound

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

photoreceptor

A

respond preferentially to photons of light

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

thermoreceptor

A

respond preferentially to temperature/heat

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

nociceptor

A

respond preferentially to noxious stimuli
pain, itch

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

properties of stimulus

A

modality
location
intensity
duration

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

modality

A

type of stimulus
each type of modality has a specialized receptor

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

location

A

identified by receptive fields
different sizes of receptive fields and stimulus location
dependence of two-point discrimination on receptive field size and number

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

lateral inhibition

A

increases contrast between active receptive fields and inactive neighbours
increases the brain’s ability to localize a sensory input
exact location

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

intensity

A

population coding
frequency coding

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

population coding

A

number of receptors activated

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

frequency coding

A

frequency of action potentials

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

duration

A

coded by duration of action potentials

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

phasic receptor

A

rapidly adapting
some chemoreceptors (olfactory)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

tonic receptor

A

slowly adapting
fire rapidly when first activated, then slow → sustained firing as long as stimulus is present
proprioceptors, nociceptors

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

somatic receptors

A

initiate sensation from skin, skeletal muscles, bones, tendons, and joints

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

somatic senses

A

touch
temperature
pain
itch
proprioception

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

skin receptors

A

somatic receptors
contain:
- Meissner’s corpuscle
- Merkel’s corpuscle
- Free neuron ending
- Pacinian corpuscles
- Ruffini corpuscle

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

Meissner’s corpuscle

A

rapidly adapting mechanoreceptor
touch and pressure

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

Merkel’s corpuscle

A

slowly adapting mechanoreceptor
touch and pressure

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

free neuron ending

A

slowly adapting
include nociceptors, itch receptors, thermoreceptors, and mechanoreceptors

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Pacinian corpuscles
rapidly adapting mechanoreceptor vibration and deep pressure in dermis
26
Ruffini corpuscle
slowly adapting mechanoreceptor skin and stretch in dermis
27
nociception, temp, + coarse touch pathway
primary afferent synapses with secondary afferent in the spinal cord → crosses the midline ascends through medulla to thalamus → synapses with tertiary neuron → primary somatic sensory cortex
28
fine touch, vibration, + proprioception pathway
primary afferent ascends from spinal cord to medulla synapses with secondary afferent in the medulla → crosses the midline → ascends to thalamus → synapses with tertiary neuron → primary somatic sensory cortex
29
central control of afferent information
descending input can change intensity of stimulus received from sensory receptor by affecting secondary neurons
30
visual perception
eye - focuses visual image + responds to light neural pathways
31
phototransduction
pathways interpret signals + transform visual image into pattern of graded and action potentials
32
optic disk (blind spot)
where neurons join into the optic nerve
33
macula
round area at center of retina - back of eyeball
34
fovea
central part of macula has highest concentration of photoreceptors = region of sharpest vision
35
refraction
caused by bend in cornea lens focuses visual image on retina → projected image is upside down visual processing reverses image
36
accomodation
eye adjusts shape of lens to keep objects in focus
37
in focus
relaxed ciliary muscles tension on zonular fibers flattened lens light rays from distant objects are nearly parallel
38
out of focus
relaxed ciliary muscles light rays from near objects diverge focal point is formed past eye
39
in focus - near object with accomodation
firing of parasympathetic nerves contracted ciliary muscles slackened zonular fibers rounded lens
40
myopia
difficulty seeing far objects corrected with concave lens
41
hyperopia
difficulty seeing near objects corrected with convex lens
42
presbyopia
loss of elasticity of the lens resulting in the inability to accommodate for near vision >40 years of age
43
astigmatism
surface of lens or cornea is not smoothly spherical results in distorted images
44
glaucoma
damage to retina due to increased intraocular pressure
45
cataracts
clouding of the lens may develop as a result of aging, metabolic disorders, trauma, or inheritance
46
organization of retina
photoreceptors pass sensory information to bipolar cells → pass info to ganglion cells photoreceptors + bipolar cells = only graded responses (do not contain v.g. channels for action potentials)
47
ganglion cells
form optic nerve → leaves eye at optic disk first cells in the pathway where action potentials are initiated
48
interneurons in retina
horizontal, bipolar, and amacrine cells
49
rods
photoreceptors that function in low light conditions
50
cones
photoreceptors that function in bright light colour vision
51
photoreceptors
sensitive only to narrow range of wavelengths = limited vision
52
ON pathway
glutamate receptors of bipolar cells are inhibitory GPCRs light depolarizes bipolar cells = excitatory NT release → depolarizes ganglion cells
53
OFF pathway
glutamate receptors of bipolar cells are excitatory ionotropic receptors light hyperpolarizes bipolar cells
54
absence of light
in both ON and OFF pathways: photoreceptors are depolarized = release of glutamate onto bipolar cells
55
presence of light
glutamate release from photoreceptors declines = depolarization of ON bipolar cells → excitatory NT release → depolarization of ON ganglion cells = increase frequency of action potentials in the brain
56
coexistance of ON and OFF pathways
improves image resolution increases brain's ability to perceive contrast at edges or borders
57
neural pathway for vision
eye → optic nerve → optic chiasm → optic tract → LGN in thalamus → visual cortex in occipital lobe
58
binocular zone
where left and right visual fields overlap
59
monocular zone
portion of visual field associated with only one eye
60
audition
based on: - physics of sound - physiology of ear - nerves - brain processing regions
61
sound
movement of air molecules → zones of compression (high density) and rarefraction (low density)
62
pitch
frequency number of cycles (waves) per second
63
loudness
amplitude of waves
64
sound transmission
tympanic membrane deflects middle ear bones move membrane in oval window moves basilar membrane moves membrane in round window moves
65
frequency vibrations
high frequency sounds vibrate basilar membrane near the oval window (closes to ear) low frequency = near helicotrema (furthest from ear)
66
hair cells
stereocilia bend (move from smallest to largest) - open K+ channels depolarization of cell = NT released from hair cell repolarization of cell by bending in opposite direction
67
primary sensory neurons in auditory pathway
project to medulla oblongata from cochlea via cochlear branch of vestibulocochlear nerve (VIII)
68
secondary sensory neurons in auditory pathway
project to both sides of the brain so both sides get signals from both ears synapse in nuclei in midbrain and thalamus before projecting into auditory cortex
69
localization of sound source
requires simultaneous input from both ears
70
conductive hearing loss
no transmission through either external or middle ear
71
central hearing loss
damage to neural pathway in CNS between ear and cerebral cortex or damage to cortex (by stroke)
72
sensorineural hearing loss
damage to structures of inner ear most common old age, damage to hair cells by loud noises
73
hearing aid
amplifier placed in auditory canal which activates existing auditory machinery
74
cochlear implants
externally located audio sensor receives input and activates electrodes → physically stimulate cochlear nerve
75

Physiology (12 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2025 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions