Unit 3 - The Other Senses

Question 1

What is sensory adaptation?

Answer 1

• The tendency of sensory neurons to stop firing in response to a stable or unchanging stimulus

Question 2

What is absolute threshold?

Answer 2

• A measurement of the limits of sensory sensitivity

Question 3

What is sensation?

Answer 3

• The process of receiving information from environmental stimuli through sensory receptors and the nervous system

Question 4

What is sensorineural hearing loss?

Answer 4

• Hearing loss caused by damage to the cochleas hair receptors or the auditory nerves
  -The result of inner ear damage or problems with the neural connection from the ear to the auditory cortex in the brain.
• Also called nerve deafness
• Causes: Loud noises

Question 5

What is conduction hearing loss?

Answer 5

• Hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts soundwaves to the cochlea
• Would occur if you have damage to the outer ear
• Causes: Chronic inner ear infections, ruptured ear drum, blockage of the eustachian tubes

Question 6

What is the eardrum?

Answer 6

• AKA: Tympanic membrane
• Part of the outer ear
• Damage could result in conduction hearing loss

Question 7

What is the hammer?

Answer 7

• AKA: Malleus
• Bone in the middle ear
• Damage would result in conduction hearing loss

Question 8

What is the stirrup?

Answer 8

• AKA: Stapes
• Bone in the middle ear
• Damage would result in conduction hearing loss

Question 9

In the ear, transduction occurs in the…

Answer 9

Cochlea

Question 10

What is the cochlea?

Answer 10

• Does transduction
• In the inner ear
• Has hair cells that change vibrations to neural impulses
• Contain fluid

Question 11

What are the eustachian tubes?

Answer 11

• Connect the middle ear to the back of the throat
• Help the ears drain fluid and equalize pressure

Question 12

What is place theory?

Answer 12

• The pitch of a sound is determined by which part of the cochlea’s basilar membrane it stimulates.
• High-frequency noises produce vibrations near the beginning of the basilar membrane, which results in our ability to hear high-pitched, squeaky sounds.

Question 13

What is frequency theory?

Answer 13

• Explains our ability to determine the pitch of a sound by the speed at which the cilia inside the cochlea vibrate.
• It explains that slow vibrations allow us to hear low-pitched sounds.

Question 14

What is the main function of the middle ear?

Answer 14

• To transmit the vibrations from the tympanic membrane (eardrum) to the inner ear

Question 15

What is the basilar membrane?

Answer 15

• Located inside the cochlea (in the inner ear)
• Contains receptors for hearing

Question 16

What is the survival function of sweet tastes?

Answer 16

Indicates energy source

Question 17

What is the survival function of salty tastes?

Answer 17

Indicates sodium, essential to psychological processes

Question 18

What is the survival function of sour tastes?

Answer 18

Indicates potentially toxic acid

Question 19

What is the survival function of bitter tastes?

Answer 19

Indicates potential poisons

Question 20

What is the survival function of umami tastes?

Answer 20

Indicates proteins to grow and repair tissue

Question 21

What is sensory interaction?

Answer 21

• The principle that one sense may influence another
• Ex: The smell and taste of food

Question 22

What is the anvil?

Answer 22

• AKA: Incus
• Bone in the middle ear

Question 23

What are the semicircular canals?

Answer 23

• In the inner ear
• Contain a small amount of fluid that when disrupted alerts the brain of the body being off balance.
• An imbalance or shift of this fluid could cause the symptoms from the prompt: dizziness, sensations of spinning, being off-balance, tilting, swaying, nausea, vomiting, and headaches.
• Once the fluid settles, a feeling of balance will return.

Question 24

What is the kinesthetic sense?

Answer 24

• The body’s internal sense that allows for the understanding of the body’s movement and positioning.
• Often related to balance, this sense is not able to be disrupted as it is not what causes balance, but rather the understanding of balance.

Question 25

What are proprioceptors?

Answer 25

• The sensory receptors of our kinesthetic sense.
• Located in our bones, joints, and soft tissues, such as muscles and tendons
• Our kinesthetic sense pertains to how we move our body and how we coordinate different body parts and their movements.
• Overactivation: Symptoms might present as chaotic body movements with multiple parts moving at once making walking, driving, or dancing difficult or impossible to achieve.

Question 26

What are nocioreceptors?

Answer 26

• The pain receptors that lie within the skin, bones/joints, and organs and function as part of our kinesthetic sense.
• A lack of nocioreceptors would lead to a decrease in the pain sensed and/or decreased pain messages sent to the brain for processing.

Question 27

What is vestibular sense?

Answer 27

• Vestibular refers to our sense of balance
• Our vestibular sense works in conjunction with the inner ear, specifically the cochlea and the fluid within.