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Sensory Transduction
Transforming physical information into neural signals. Four types of receptors in humans: 1. Photoreceptors sense light 2. Mechanoreceptors sense mechanical pressure 3. Chemoreceptors sense molecules 4. Thermoreceptors sense temperature
Mechanical pressure
Mechanoreceptors
Physically deforming a mechanoreceptor causes ion channels to open, which causes the cell to fire. Mechanical forces can provide a wide range of information
1. Movement of hair cells in the inner ear
hearing inertia gravity Light touch Texture Stretch Pain Body position Body movement Interoception
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jyxhozq89g
Semicircular canals contain endolymph Acceleration and deceleration of rotational head movement endolymph movement lags behind the hair cells, causes them to bend Changes in viscosity of endolymph can interfere with perception: alcohol, Mnire's disease
Inner ears also contain the otolith organs Gravity shifts the otoliths (small crystals) against hair cells Provides sense of head position relative to upright, and inertia
Haptic touch: exploring objects with your cutaneous mechanoreceptors Vibrations = roughness/texture Pressure = firmness Position of fingers around object = shape Skin stretch = weight
Pain (nociception)
Free nerve endings respond to tissue damage But pain experience is not well correlated with activity in free nerve endings Highly influenced by context and emotion Pain signals are gated from entering the brain -- can be blocked by endorphins
Proprioception (body position), kinesthesis (body movements) and interoception (body state)
Stretch receptors in muscles and tendons: lowlevel (spinal/brain stem) control + perceptual input
Also, stretch receptors in smooth muscle (e.g. lungs, bladder, stomach, bowels): low level (spinal/brain stem) control + perceptual input
Mechanoreceptors - summary
Physically deforming mechanoreceptors changes their firing Mechanical forces provide a wide range of sensory information: sound, gravity, pressure, texture, and body state Hair cells in the cochlea move in response to sound waves amplified by the ear, the basis for audition Other hair cells in the ear provide the vestibular sense Mechanoreceptors in skin and body provide somatosensation Different shapes, sizes, depths, and sensitivity of receptors in the skin provide tactile information, including nociception Other stretch receptors in the body provide kinesthesis, proprioception, and interoception
PS1009 Perception: Sensory Transduction
Sensory Transduction
Transforming physical information into neural signals. Four types of receptors in humans: 1. Photoreceptors sense light 2. Mechanoreceptors sense mechanical pressure 3. Chemoreceptors sense molecules 4. Thermoreceptors sense temperature
Chemoreceptors
Function like a lock and key: specific classes of receptors are sensitive to specific molecule types. Found in three locations (among others):
a) tongue (gustation) b) nasal epithelium (olfaction) c) the respiratory system (breathing)
Temporary loss of taste is common. Permanent aguesia is rare. Usually caused by nerve damage or deformity