L34 Senses & Their Receptors

Question 1

What are the two classes of cells in our nervous system?

Answer 1

Neurone

Glial cell- it is the main support for neurones.

Question 2

What does a cell body in a neurone contain?

Answer 2

The nucleus

Question 3

What do dendrites do?

Answer 3

Get synaptic inputs from other neurones

Question 4

What are axons?

Answer 4

Structures that travel from the cell body to make contact with other structures in the body - they are involved in passing on synaptic transmission

Question 5

What is the sensory division of our PNS called?

Answer 5

Afferent division of our PNS

Question 6

What is the motor division of the PNS called ?

Answer 6

The efferent division of the PNS

Question 7

Who proposed that humans possess five different senses?

Answer 7

Aristotle

Question 8

Is there more than 5 senses?

Answer 8

Yes

Question 9

What does the word somatic refer to ?

Answer 9

Body

Question 10

What are the four main somatic senses?

Answer 10

Touch/Tactile (texture, pressure)

Thermal/temperature (warm,cold)

Pain (tissue damage)

Kinesthesis/proprioception (muscle tension, joint position) ( let u know whether muscle is contracted or relaxed)

Question 11

What are the five main special senses ?

Answer 11

Vision

Audition

Smell/olfaction

Taste

Vestibular - tells you where ur head is in space and how it’s moving around.

Question 12

What are the five main classes of sensory receptor and their response to stimuli?

Answer 12

Mechanoreceptors - they cause distortion/replacement of the receptor membrane.

Thermostatic receptors- they cause thermal changes with respect to the body’s core or skin temperature.

Chemoreceptors- chemicals/molecules contact the receptor membrane.

Noci-ceptors(pain receptors) - noxious stimuli (extreme mechanical ,thermal or chemical) (respond to pain basically or tissue damage)

Photo-receptors (Rods and comes) - photons captured by light sensitive pigments.

Question 13

What receptors are associated with the vestibular sense?

Answer 13

Mechano-receptors

Question 14

What receptors are associated with olfaction and taste?

Answer 14

Chemo-receptors

Question 15

What are the receptors associated with kinesthesis / proprioception?

Answer 15

Mechanio-receptors

Question 16

What is transduction in the case of neurones ?

Answer 16

Converting a particular stimulus into electrical activity .

Concerting one form of energy into another

Question 17

What happens when somatic and olfactory receptors encounters a stimulus?

Answer 17

All types of receptors generate an action potential when transducing their stimuli as they are attached to axons belonging to the sensory (afferent) neurones- these send the electrical impulses directly to the CNS.

Question 18

What happens when receptors that are not somatic or olfactory encounter a stimulus and why?

Answer 18

Receptors involved in senses that are not somatic or olfactory are separate from their sensory neurones and axons.

Transduction by these receptors generates changes in their membrane potential and neurotransmitter release at their synapses with the sensory (afferent) neurones sending action potentials via their axons to the CNS.

Question 19

What are sensory (afferent) cells nearly always called?

Answer 19

Ganglion cells

Question 20

What is the stimulus for free nerve ending receptors in your skin?

Answer 20

Pain or thermal

Question 21

What does the merkel’s disk receptor respond to?

Answer 21

Light deformation / texture

Question 22

What does the Meissener’s corpuscle receptor respond to ?

Answer 22

Light pressure e.g. they allow you to feel that you are tapping on your keyboard.

Question 23

What does the pacinian corpuscle receptor respond to ?

Answer 23

Vibration and deep pressure

Question 24

What does a ruffini’s ending receptor respond to ?

Answer 24

Stretching of the skin e.g if you pull on ur skin.

Question 25

What are the three types of proprioceptor?

Answer 25

Muscle spindles - tell you about muscle stretch

Golgi tendon organs - muscle tension/contraction force

Ruffini endings - also in ligaments for indicating joint stretch/position.