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Biological Foundations of Psychology > (9) somatosensory, vestibular and olfactory systems > Flashcards

(9) somatosensory, vestibular and olfactory systems Flashcards

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1
Q

-Sensory projections ascend from the

A

spinal cord into the brain through the brainstem.

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2
Q

When sensory projections travel through the thalamus, they act as…

A

which acts as a relay processing station of signals to other brain regions

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3
Q

What is a pathway?

A

Pathway is the receptor to the brain

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4
Q

What are the skins three layers?

A
  • Epidermis: thin outer layer
  • Dermis (thick inner layer)
  • Hypodermis
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5
Q

What is Glabrous Skin?

A
  • Smooth, thick skin on palms and soles of our feet , e.g. finger tips
  • Epidermis = 1.5 mm Dermis = 3 mm
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6
Q

What is Hairy Skin?

A
  • Thin skin populated with hair follicles, widespread

- Epidermis = 0.1 mm Dermis = 1-2 mm

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7
Q

What are sweat glands?

A
  • Eccrine – secrete saline (heat regulation)
  • Sebaceous – secrete complex cell cytoplasm
  • (Primary source of human body odour!)
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8
Q

What are Meissner Corpuscles?

A

Small receptive fields, fast adapting

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9
Q

What are Merkel Cells?

A

Small receptive fields, slow adapting

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10
Q

What are Ruffini Endings?

A

large receptive fields, slow adapting

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11
Q

What are Pacinian Corpuscle?

A

large receptor fields, fast adapting

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12
Q

What is the ‘Two point discrimination test’ for?

A

which skin region is more accurate

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13
Q

The receptive field of an individual sensory neuron is the

A

particular region of the sensory space in which a stimulus will modify the firing of that neuron

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14
Q

Bell-Megendie Law, in the dorsal the sensory afferents or efferents?

A

-dorsal= sensory afferents

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15
Q

Bell-Megendie Law, in the ventral the sensory afferents or efferents?

A

-ventral= motor efferents

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16
Q

Whats a Dermatome?

A

an area of skin in which sensory nerves derive from a single spinal nerve root

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17
Q

Somatosensory signals are sent through the spinal cord via the dorsal column pathway to the

A

primary somatosensory cortex (S1) in the brain.

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18
Q

What is somatotopy?

A

Each part of the skin surface is represented by a specific region of primary somatosensory cortex

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19
Q

What is “sensory homunculus”?

A

(little man) The area devoted to each body part reflects the receptor density in that part

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20
Q

What is Cortical magnification?

A

The receptive fields and cortical representations give more acuity to fingers, mouth, nose and tongue

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21
Q

Pain and touch are processed by

A

separate neural systems, Pain is detected by special receptors in the skin

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22
Q

What are Nociceptors (free nerve endings)?

A

Signal mechanical & chemical pain

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23
Q

What are Thermoceptors?

A

Signal hot and cold pain, Ending of unmyelinated C-fibers

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24
Q

What are the three types of nociceptors?

Study These Flashcards
A
  1. Mechano-sensitive nociceptors (high threshold)
  2. Thermo-sensitive nociceptors (high threshold)
  3. Polymodal (chemo-sensitive) nociceptors
25
What two types of firing occur at?
Two Types: Cold receptors fire when T decreases from 34°C, maximal firing at 25°C Warmth receptors fire when T increases from 34°C, maximal firing at 45°C
26
How are hot sensations detected?
noxious stimulus detected by nociceptors, not thermal receptors
27
What are thermoceptors resting state?
34 degrees
28
Pain perception has two components
fast and slow
29
What is fast pain?
- Fast (first) pain is sharp, instantaneous, and tends to fade - Fast pain is signalled by myelinated (fast) Aδ(”A-delta”) nerve fibers
30
What is slow pain?
- Slow (second) pain is delayed, dull, diffuse, and long-lasting - Slow pain is signalled by unmyelinated (slow) C fibers
31
Pain signals travel through the spino-thalamic tract to the brain – runs parallel to...
somatosensory (dorsal column) pathways
32
Pain signals travel through the spino-thalamic tract are...
- Afferent to spinal cord laminae I & II - Cross midline to contralateral anterolateral column - Ascend via direct (spinothalamic) and indirect pathways to thalamus - To somatosensory cortex
33
What are the two central pain systems?
EMOTIONAL AVERSIVE and SENSORY DISCRIMINATIVE
34
What is the emotional aversive?
- Amygdala, anterior cingulate cortex, insular cortex | - Mediate perception of fear, anxiety, and
35
What is the sensory discriminative?
- Somatosensory cortex (S1 & S2) | - Mediate perception of location, intensity, and "quality” of painful stimuli
36
The vestibular labyrinth answers two questions basic to the human condition:
where I am? which way is up?
37
What are Semicircular Canals?
head angular acceleration
38
What is a Otholiths head?
linear acceleration gravity | -Can't stop from firing
39
Semi-circular canals filled with
liquid (endolymph)
40
Rotation of head cause liquid to move
opposite to rotation
41
Rotation of head cause liquid to move opposite to rotation which causes...
-This bends the jelly-like cupula, causing embedded vestibular hair cells to bend and fire action potentials
42
What does the otoliths consist of~?
The otoliths consist of hair cells embedded in a gelatinous (jelly-like) substance, covered with heavy calcium carbonate crystals
43
What does linear acceleration cause?
Linear acceleration (e.g. tilting the head) cause the crystals to pull the gelatinous substance downward, bending hair cell stereocilia and causing depolarisation
44
What is the Vestibulo-ocular reflex?
keep the eyes still in space when the head moves, stops feelings of sickness and gives stability
45
What is the Vestibulo-collic reflex?
keeps the head still in space –or on a level plane when you walk
46
What is the Vestibulo-spinal reflex?
adjusts posture for rapid changes in position, posture and balance
47
Information about rotation and tilt travels through the brainstem and cerebellum and helps maintain
posture
48
Vestibulo-ocular reflex allows maintaining
gaze while rotating or moving head
49
Smells are detected by specialised
Smells are detected by specialised olfactory receptors (6) in the nasal cavity (olfactory epithelium [4])
50
Olfactory receptors send axons to the
Olfactory receptors send axons to the olfactory bulb(1) where they contact mitral cells (2) that send signals to the brain through the olfactory nerve
51
Olfactory receptors and mitral cells contact each other in structures called
Olfactory receptors and mitral cells contact each other in structures called glomeruli. Each glomerulus responds to one type of odorant, corresponding to one type of olfactory receptor neuron
52
Olfactory receptors have special receptor proteins in their... Each olfactory receptor has only...
- Olfactory receptors have special receptor proteins in their cell membrane - Each olfactory receptor has only one type of receptor protein which bind specific odorant molecules - This sets of a G-protein chain reaction that causes the receptor to depolarise and fire action potentials
53
Signals from the olfactory nerve travel to the
pyriform cortex
54
Neurons in pyriform cortex respond to
odours
55
-Olfactory signals are also sent to the
amygdala (emotional responses)
56
What are the 5 basic tastes?
- Sweet - Sour - Salty - Bitter - Savoury/umami
57
Taste (gustatory) receptors are located in
taste buds on surface of taste papillae
58
Information about taste is transmitted from taste receptors through the
thalamus to the gustatory cortex in the insula

Biological Foundations of Psychology (11 decks)

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