General Principles of Sensory Processing, Touch, & Pain

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards related to sensory processing, including definitions and functions.

What are sensory receptor organs?

Organs specialized to receive particular stimuli, such as the eye or ear.

Define adequate stimulus.

A type of stimulus to which a sensory organ is particularly adapted to respond.

What is sensory transduction?

The conversion of electrical energy from a stimulus into a change in membrane potential in a receptor cell.

What are labeled lines in sensory processing?

Separate nerve tracts that allow the brain to recognize distinct senses.

What do tonic receptors do?

Show slow or no decline in action potential frequency and are immune to adaptation.

Define phasic receptors.

Receptors that display adaptation and decrease the frequency of action potentials.

What is the function of nociceptors?

Peripheral receptors that respond to painful stimuli.

What are free nerve endings?

Axons that terminate in the skin without specialized cells and detect pain or temperature changes.

What is the anterolateral system?

A somatosensory system that carries most pain and temperature information from the body to the brain.

Define chronic pain.

Pain that persists over time and may be associated with pathological signaling of pain neurons.

What characterizes the primary somatosensory cortex (S1)?

It receives touch information from the opposite side of the body.

What are the five basic tastes?

Salty, sour, sweet, bitter, and umami.

What is the purpose of the gustatory system?

To pass taste information to the brain.

What are photoreceptors?

Neural cells in the retina that respond to light.

List the two main types of retinal photoreceptors.

Rods, which are more active in low light, and cones, responsible for color vision.

What is the role of the auditory system?

To perceive sound through mechanical vibrations and pressure waves.

Define range fractionation.

Occurs when different cells have different thresholds for firing, allowing detection of varying stimulus intensities.

What are analgesics?

Substances that reduce or eliminate pain sensation.

Define the term 'adaptation' in sensory processing.

The progressive loss of response to a maintained stimulus.

What is the significance of the cochlea in hearing?

It determines the frequency of sound stimuli within the inner ear.

What happens to photoreceptors during light exposure?

They hyperpolarize and release less glutamate.

What is the function of the olfactory receptor neurons?

To detect odorant molecules and transduce that signal to the brain.