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47 Terms
1
What are the five major senses?
Taste, smell, touch, hearing, and sight.
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2
What is the role of sensory receptors?
To help learn about the environment or the state of our internal environment.
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3
Define sensation and perception.
Sensation is the activation of sensory receptors at the level of the stimulus, while perception is the central processing of sensory stimuli into meaningful patterns.
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4
What is transduction in relation to sensory receptors?
The process by which stimuli are converted into electrochemical signals in the nervous system.
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5
How are receptor cells classified?
They can be classified based on cell type, position, and function.
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6
What are the structural types of sensory receptors?
1) Neuron with free nerve endings, 2) Neuron with encapsulated endings, 3) Specialized receptor cells.
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7
What is an exteroceptor?
A receptor located near stimuli in the external environment.
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8
What do mechanoreceptors respond to?
Physical stimuli such as pressure, vibration, and sound.
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9
What are chemoreceptors responsible for?
Detecting chemical stimuli such as taste and smell.
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10
What type of receptors interpret pain?
Nociceptors.
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11
Which part of the ear is responsible for hearing?
The cochlea.
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12
What connects the middle ear to the pharynx?
The Eustachian tube.
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13
What is a photoreceptor?
A specialized receptor cell in the retina that responds to light stimuli.
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14
What are the two types of photoreceptors in the human retina?
Rods and cones.
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15
What is the primary role of rods?
To provide vision in low-light conditions.
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16
What is the role of cones in vision?
To provide color vision in brighter light.
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17
Describe the structure of the eye.
It has three layers: the fibrous tunic (sclera and cornea), vascular tunic (choroid, ciliary body, and iris), and neural tunic (retina).
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18
What is the function of the iris?
To control the size of the pupil and regulate the amount of light entering the eye.
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19
What is the fovea?
The area in the retina with the highest visual acuity.
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20
What happens during phototransduction?
Light causes changes in the membrane potential of photoreceptors, altering neurotransmitter release.
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21
What are the primary tastes detected by the gustatory system?
Sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami.
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22
What is umami?
A taste associated with savory flavors, often triggered by amino acids like L-glutamate.
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23
How does salty taste transduce signals?
By perceived sodium (Na+) ions that cause depolarization in gustatory cells.
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24
What does sour taste perception detect?
Concentration of hydrogen ions (H+), indicating acidity.
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25
What is the function of hair cells in the cochlea?
To transduce sound waves into neural signals.
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26
What is the organ of Corti?
The structure in the cochlea responsible for converting sound waves into nerve impulses.
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27
How do stereocilia function in hearing?
Their bending opens or closes ion channels in hair cells, initiating an action potential.
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28
What is anosmia?
Loss of the sense of smell.
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29
What causes anosmia?
Blunt force trauma, certain pharmaceuticals, or respiratory infections.
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30
What does the vestibular system detect?
Information about balance and head position.
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31
What are otoliths?
Calcium carbonate crystals in the otolithic membrane that help detect linear acceleration.
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32
Which cranial nerve is responsible for taste sensation?
The facial nerve (CN VII), glossopharyngeal nerve (CN IX), and vagus nerve (CN X).
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33
What is the stimulus for thermoreceptors?
Temperature changes, either hot or cold.
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34
What are Golgi tendon organs?
Receptors that monitor stretch in tendons.
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35
What are Merkel cells?
Mechanoreceptors that detect light touch and vibration.
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36
How do the eyes achieve focus?
By the lens changing shape to bend light onto the retina.
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37
What is the visual pathway from the retina to the brain?
Photoreceptors send signals to bipolar cells, then to retinal ganglion cells, which project via the optic nerve to the brain.
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38
What is the function of the central nervous system (CNS) in relation to sensory input?
To integrate and process incoming sensory information.
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39
What is the role of action potentials in sensory receptors?
To relay sensory information to the CNS after transduction.
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40
What are the supporting structures around the eye?
Eyeballs, eyelids, extraocular muscles, and lacrimal glands.
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41
What is the aqueous humor?
The watery fluid in the anterior cavity of the eye.
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42
What is the vitreous humor?
The gel-like substance that fills the posterior cavity of the eye.
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43
What role do neurotransmitters play in taste sensation?
They activate sensory neurons in response to taste receptor cell activity.
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44
What types of stimuli can activate photoreceptors?
Electromagnetic radiation in the form of visible light.
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45
What determines the perception of color in the brain?
The relative activation of the three types of cone photopigments.
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46
What causes a blind spot in the retina?
The absence of photoreceptors at the point where the optic nerve exits the eye.
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