Principles of Animal Physiology Nervous System

Principles of Animal Physiology

Sensory cells -specialized cells for obtaining information about the environment. Review Mechanically gated channels Voltage-gated channels Chemically gated channels Chemotaxis

 Principles of Animal Physiology Three primary roles of sensors Exteroreceptors Detect external signals such as light, chemicals, etc Somesthetic sensation -from body surface Special senses -vision, hearing, taste, and smell Interoreceptors Detect internal body signals such as blood pressure Proprioceptors Detect the animals position in space

Physiology
Perception -interpretation of the external world as created by the brain from nerve impulses delivered by sensory receptors. Our perception of the world is incomplete, why?

 Physiology Our perception of the world is incomplete, because: We (humans) can detect only a limited number of energy forms We perceive sounds, colors, shapes, textures, smells, tastes, deformations, and temperature We DO NOT perceive magnetic forces, electrical forces, polarized light waves, or ultraviolet light waves Information we receive is filtered or modified At the receptor, brainstem or cortex

The brain fills in and add lines to completethe picture (story).

Receptor Physiology Stimulus -change detectable by the body Modality -form of energy that stimuli take Receptor -sructure that respond to a particular modality Transduction -conversion from one form of energy to another Adequate stimulus -modality with the lowest energy that would activate the receptor Doctrine of specific nerve energies (Johannes Muller) receptors would only respond to certain stimulus and not to others Sensation perceived depends on receptor activated

 Categories of receptor by type of energy

used Photoreceptors -light Mechanoreceptors -mechanical energy Chemoreceptors -specific chemicals Thermoreceptors -change in temperature Nociceptors -pain, noxious stimuli Electroreceptors -electrical fields Magnetoreceptors -magnetic fields

 Uses of information detected by receptors Used for controlling efferent output Used as input to the reticular activating system for arousal and consciousness Gives rise to the animals perception of the environment May be stored for future use

A receptor may be either: A modified nerve ending Local change in membrane permeability Generator potential Another cell closely associated with the sensory neuron Stimulation causes changes in permeability of receptor cell Receptor potential

Receptor vs generator potentials

 Receptors vary according to their speed of adaptation Adaptation -diminished response to sustained stimulus strength Tonic receptors Do not adapt at all, or adapt slowly E.g. Muscle stretch receptors Phasic receptors Adapt rapidly Exibit onoffresponses E.g. Touch to the skin

Tonic and phasic receptors

Nervous System The Pacinian corpuscle

 Sensory Adaptation

May take place in the PNS or CNS Receptor may act as a filter Transducer molecules may be depleted Enzyme cascade activity may be inhibited Electrical properties may change Spike initiation zone may be less sensitive Adjustments at higher brain centers may occur

 Somatosensory pathway is labeledaccording to modality and location From receptor to brain perception area (somatosensory cortex) Receptor First order neuron (sensory/afferent neuron) Second order neuron Third order neuron And so on From a specific location to a specific portion of the cortex

Photoreception: Eyes and Vision It may be the most dominant sense Uses photopigments Conversion of light energy to action potentials From eyespots to pinhole eye to camera eye to compound eye

Development of invertebrate eyes

The mammalian eye

Control of light entering the eye

The Electromagnetic spectrum

Focusing of diverging light rays Cornea Lens

Focusing on near and distant objects

Accomodation -ability of lense to adjust strength to focus on both near and distant objects

Retinal layers

Photoreceptors

 Photopigments -undergo chemical alternations when activated by light Consists if opsin, an enzyme and retinene, from vitamin A Rhodopsin -vertebrate rod photopigment Provides vision in shades of gray Porphyropsin -insect rod pigment 4 cone photopigments -red, green, blue, and ultraviolet Respond to selective wavelengths Makes color vision possible

Phototransduction Virtually the same for all vertebrate photoreceptors

The mammalian visual pathway

 Sound waves, ears and hearing Uses Early detection of predators, competitors, physical threats, potential prey Detection of mating calls Herding

 Sound properties Compression and rarefaction of molecules Pitch or tone Frequency of vibration (20-20,000 Hz) Ultrasonic > 20,000 cycles per second Infrasonic < 20 cycles per second Echolocation -the use of sound echoes to detect objects in the environment Intensity (loudness) Amplitude of sound waves Measured in decibels (dB)

Properties of sound

Anatomy of the mammalian ear

Middle ear and cochlea

Transmission of sound waves

The organ of Corti

Sound transduction

References:
Randall, D., W. Burggren and K. French. 1997. Animal Physiology: Mechanisms and Adaptations. Fourth Edition, W.H. Freeman & Company, New York. http://users.tamuk.edu/kfjab02/ http://www.uleth.ca/bio/bio3420/3420.html http://action.painfoundation.org/site/News2?page=News Article&id=5135&security=1&news_iv_ctrl=1061

Thank you and God bless - Doc Irish