Sensing the world I

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what is sensation?

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1

what is sensation?

the capacity to detect a particular physical or chemical stimulus

(involves the sensory organs and afferent nerves)

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2

what is perception?

the conscious experience and interpretation of sensory information

(involves neurons in the central nervous system)

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3

what is a stimulus?

a thing or event that evokes a specific functional reaction in an organ or tissue (stimuli can be physical or chemical)

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4

what are some physical stimuli?

  • sound

  • visible light

  • heat

  • magnetic field

  • UV light

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5

what are some chemical stimuli?

  • taste

  • odour

  • flavour

  • pheromone

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6

what is stimulus transduction?

converting the stimulus into the nervous system ā€˜languageā€™ i.e. neuronal activity

(each sensory organ deploys a specific mechanism to transform chemical or physical attributes of stimuli to neuronal activity)

<p>converting the stimulus into the nervous system ā€˜languageā€™ i.e. neuronal activity</p><p>(each sensory organ deploys a specific mechanism to transform chemical or physical attributes of stimuli to neuronal activity)</p>
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7

which organ(s) and stimuli and related to somatosensation?

  • organ: skin and other tissues

  • stimuli: pressure, warmth, cold, pain

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8

which organ(s) and stimulus and related to sight?

  • organ: eyes

  • stimulus: light

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9

which organ(s) and stimulus and related to hearing?

  • organ: ears

  • stimulus: air vibration

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10

which organ(s) and stimulus and related to smell?

  • organ: nose

  • stimulus: volatile chemicals

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11

which organ(s) and stimulus and related to taste?

  • organ: mouth

  • stimulus: soluble chemicals

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12

how do pigeons use magnetoreception?

they use the magnetic field of the earth to navigate and find the direction they want to go

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13

what do elephants (and other animals) use infrasound?

  • infrasounds are sounds that humans canā€™t hear because the frequency is too low (they can also travel ling distances)

  • they use it to communicate with each other and about things that are happening

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14

how do bats use ultrasounds?

  • ultrasounds are sounds humans canā€™t hear because the frequency is too high

  • they use it to navigate and localise everything that is around them including prey

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15

how do fish (e.g. elephant fish) use electrolocation?

  • they can detect the electrical fields around them

  • if the electrical field is disrupted they know an object is there

  • they use electrical signals to communicate with each other

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16

how does vision differ in humans and bees?

  • humans have cones that detect blue, green and red

  • bees have cones that can detect blue, green and ultraviolet

<ul><li><p>humans have cones that detect blue, green and red</p></li><li><p>bees have cones that can detect blue, green and ultraviolet</p></li></ul>
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17

describe how asymmetric vision in the cockeyed squid works

  • the large eye looking upwards detects predators against the dim sunlight

  • the small eye looking downward detects preyā€™s bioluminescent signals

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18

what are sensory receptors?

cells that specialise in converting external stimuli (physical or chemical) into neural (electrical) activity

types:

  • photoreceptors

  • mechanoreceptors

  • chemoreceptors

  • nociceptors

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19

what do photoreceptors do?

detect light (vision)

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20

what do mechanoreceptors do?

detect movement (sound, texture, blood pressure, muscle stretch)

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21

what do chemoreceptors do?

detect chemical compounds (smell. taste)

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22

what do nociceptors do?

detect tissue damage (pain)

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23

how do photoreceptors differ?

each photoreceptor points to a unique direction, sensing the light present in this two dimensional space

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24

how do mechanoreceptors vary in the ear?

each inner hair cell responds to specific sound frequencies

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25

how do odorant receptors differ?

each one detects only one chemical attribute

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26

how are receptors distributed in sensory organs?

receptor distribution is not always homogenous (e.g. in the retina, tongue)

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27

why does receptor sensitivity vary?

receptors have different thresholds (i.e. the minimum stimulus intensity that is detected)

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28

what do neural relays do?

  • all senses connect to the cortex through a series of neural relays

  • sensory info is modified at each relay, allowing for the construction of different aspects of the sensory experience

  • they also allow for sensory systems to interact (e.g. visual modification of sound - the McGurk effect)

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29

why is perception more complex than sensation?

the context, emotional state or memories can affect how we perceive the same sensory experience

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30

why is the visual system important for our daily lives?

through seeing and perceiving the world around us we assess reality but can also produce adaptive behaviours

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31

what is visible light?

the section of the electromagnetic spectrum that the human eye can detect

(light can enter the eye from a source of light, or after bouncing on an object)

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32

anatomy of the human eye

knowt flashcard image
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33

what are the two types of photoreceptors contained in the retina?

  • cones (detect colour)

  • rods (detect light)

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34

what type of photoreceptor is the fovea mainly covered in?

cones (actute vision during daylight)

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35

what type of photoreceptor covers the periphery?

rods (which are more sensitive to light than cones)

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36

how does light affect the release of glutamate in photoreceptors?

  • they are depolarised in the dark, releasing glutamate

  • light makes them hyperpolarise, reducing glutamate

<ul><li><p>they are depolarised in the dark, releasing glutamate</p></li><li><p>light makes them hyperpolarise, reducing glutamate</p></li></ul>
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37

what is a bipolar cell?

one of the main retinal interneurons and provide the main pathways from photoreceptors to ganglion cells

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38

what affects the probability of neurotransmitter release?

photoreceptors and bipolar cells changing their membrane potential (they do not fire action potentials)

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39

what are the two types of bipolar cells (in vertebrate retinas)?

on and off

<p>on and off</p>
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40

how many photoreceptors doe bipolar cells connect to in the fovea and the peripheral retina?

  • fovea: one bipolar cell connects to one photoreceptor

  • peripheral retina: one bipolar cell connects with several photoreceptors

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41

where is visual information from each side of the visual field analysed?

  • right side: left hemisphere

  • left side: right hemisphere

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42

what are the three neural routes to the visual brain?

  • retinohypothalamic tract

  • geniculostriate pathway

  • tectopulvinar pathway

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43

what is the retinohypothalamic tract involved in?

  • regulating the circadian rhythm

  • controls pupillary reflex that expands or contracts the pupil to regulate the amount of light reaching the retina

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44

what is the geniculostriate pathway involved in?

the conscious experience of vision

contains:

  • dorsal stream: analyses how; guides movement to relative objects

  • ventral system: analyse the what: object identification

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45

what is the tectopulvinar pathway involved in?

analyses spatial information of objects

  • from ganglion cells from retina periphery, with no colour info

  • explains the visual ability of patients with blindsight

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