Unit 3 Chapter 14 (Sensory, Motor, and Integrative Systems) Flashcards
Distinguish between sensation and perception
-Sensation usually involves sensing the existence of a stimulus, whereas perceptual systems involve the determination of what a stimulus is
-Perception is the interpretation of information from the environment so that we can identify its meaning
Define sensory modality
-the way that information is encoded by the senses, similar to the idea of transduction
How is your cerebral cortex is able to distinguish between the various sensory modalities
-a given sensory neuron carries information for only one sensory modality.
-neurons relaying impulses for touch to the somatosensory area of the cerebral cortex do not transmit impulses for pain. Likewise, impulses from the eyes are perceived as sight, and those from the ears are perceived as sounds.
Distinguish between general and special senses
-Special senses include the vision for which the eyes are the specialized sense organs, hearing (ears), balance (ears), taste (tongue), and smell (nasal passages).
-General senses are all associated with the sense of touch and lack special sense organs.
Describe the process of sensation
-the process in which a sensory receptor is stimulated, producing nerve impulses that travel to the brain, which in turn interprets such impulses as a visual image, a sound, taste, odor, touch, or pain.
Describe adaptation and relate to results obtained from lab activities involving adaptation of sensory receptors
-the generator potential or receptor potential decreases in amplitude during a maintained, constant stimulus. As a result, the frequency of impulses in the first-order neuron decreases.
-Receptors vary in how quickly they adapt.
-Rapidly adapting receptors adapt very quickly. They are specialized for signaling changes in a stimulus. Receptors associated with pressure, touch, and smell are rapidly adapting.
-Slowly adapting receptors, by contrast, adapt slowly and continue to trigger impulses as long as the stimulus persists.
What is the function of pain
-warns us of potential danger to tissue harm or to the presence of injury
How do pain sensations arise
-activation of the receptors in the primary afferent fibers in a localized part of the body
Do pain receptors adapt
-no they do not adapt to stimulus
Distinguish among fast, slow, somatic, visceral, and referred pain
-fast pain goes away quickly, makes you pull your hand away from the hot stove
-slow pain is dull, aching, burning, and cramping
-somatic pain is well localized, intermittent, or constant and described as aching, gnawing, throbbing, or cramping
-visceral pain is the pain felt when our internal organs are inflamed, diseased, damaged or injured
-referred pain is pain perceived at a location other than the site of the painful stimulus/ origin
Define proprioceptive sensations and proprioceptors
-the sense that lets us perceive the location, movement, and action of parts of the body
-proprioceptors are a sensory receptor which receives stimuli from within the body and send impulses regarding joint and muscle movement
Do proprioceptors adapt
Define and state the function of muscle spindles
-muscle spindles sense how much and how fast a muscle is lengthened or shortened
-detect how much a muscle stretches; stretch detector
