Chapter 36

Question 1

A sensory neuron with specialized membranes in which receptor proteins are embedded.

Answer 1

sensory receptor cell

Question 2

A group of sensory receptors that converts particular physical and chemical stimuli into nerve impulses that are processed by a nervous system and sent to a brain.

Answer 2

sensory organ

Question 3

The conversion of physical or chemical stimuli into nerve impulses.

Answer 3

sensory transduction

Question 4

A receptor that responds to molecules that bind to specific protein receptors on the cell membrane of the sensory receptor

Answer 4

chemoreceptor

Question 5

A sensory receptor that responds to physical deformations of its membrane produced by touch, stretch, pressure, motion, or sound.

Answer 5

mechanoreceptor

Question 6

A receptor that responds to electrical, magnetic, or light stimuli.

Answer 6

electromagnetic receptor

Question 7

A molecule whose chemical properties are altered when it absorbs light; also, photoreceptors are the sensory receptors in the eye.

Answer 7

photoreceptor

Question 8

A sensory receptor found in some fish that enables them to detect weak electrical signals emitted by other organisms.

Answer 8

electroreceptor

Question 9

A sensory receptor in the skin and in specialized regions of the central nervous system that responds to heat and cold.

Answer 9

thermoreceptor

Question 10

A type of nerve cell with dendrites in the skin and connective tissues of the body that responds to excessive mechanical, thermal, or chemical stimuli by withdrawal from the stimulus and by the sensation of pain.

Answer 10

nociceptor

Question 11

The number of action potentials fired over a given period of time.

Answer 11

firing rate

Question 12

The converging of multiple receptors onto a neighboring neuron, increasing its firing rate proportionally to the number of signals received.

Answer 12

spatial summation

Question 13

The frequency of synaptic stimuli; the integration of sensory stimuli that are received repeatedly over time by the same sensory cell.

Answer 13

temporal summation

Question 14

In an evolutionary context, the fit between an organism and its environment that results from evolution by natural selection. In sensory reception, the process in which sensory receptors reduce their firing rate when a stimulus continues over a period of time.

Answer 14

adaptation

Question 15

Inhibition of a process in cells adjacent to the cell receiving a signal inducing that process, enhancing the strength of a signal locally but diminishing it peripherally.

Answer 15

lateral inhibition

Question 16

The sense of smell.

Answer 16

olfaction

Question 17

The sense of taste.

Answer 17

gustation

Question 18

One of the sensory organs for taste

Answer 18

taste bud

Question 19

A specialized mechanoreceptor that senses movement and vibration.

Answer 19

hair cell

Question 20

Nonmotile cell-surface projections on hair cells whose movement causes a depolarization of the cell’s membrane.

Answer 20

stereocilia

Question 21

In fish and sharks, a sensory organ along both sides of the body that uses hair cells to detect movement of the surrounding water.

Answer 21

Lateral line system

Question 22

A type of gravity-sensing organ found in most invertebrates.

Answer 22

statocyst

Question 23

In plants, a large starch-filled organelle in the root cap that senses gravity; in animals, a dense particle that moves freely within a statocyst, enabling it to sense gravity.

Answer 23

statolith

Question 24

A system in the mammalian inner ear made up of two statocyst chambers and three semicircular canals.

Answer 24

vestibular system

Question 25

One of three connected fluid-filled tubes in the mammalian inner ear that contains hair cells that sense angular motions of the head in three perpendicular planes.

Answer 25

semicircular canal

Question 26

A thin sheet of tissue at the surface of the ear that vibrates in response to sound waves, amplifying airborne vibrations; in mammals, also known as the eardrum.

Answer 26

tympanic membrane

Question 27

Small unit of the photosynthetic surface on fern leaves; also, the external structure of mammalian ears that enhance the reception of sound waves contacting the ear.

Answer 27

pinna

Question 28

The part of the human ear that includes the pinna, the ear canal, and tympanic membrane.

Answer 28

outer ear

Question 29

In mammals, another name for the tympanic membrane, which transmits airborne sounds into the ear.

Answer 29

eardrum

Question 30

The part of the mammalian ear containing three small bones, the malleus, incus, and stapes, which amplify the waves that strike the tympanic membrane.

Answer 30

middle ear

Question 31

A small bone in the middle ear that helps amplify the waves that strike the tympanic membrane

Answer 31

malleus

Question 32

A small bone in the vertebrate middle ear that helps amplify the sound waves that strike the tympanic membrane.

Answer 32

incus

Question 33

A small bone in the middle ear that helps amplify the waves that strike the tympanic membrane; the stapes connects to the oval window of the cochlea.

Answer 33

stapes

Question 34

The thin membrane between the stapes of the middle ear and the cochlea of the inner ear.

Answer 34

oval window

Question 35

The part of the vertebrate ear that includes the cochlea and semicircular canals.

Answer 35

inner ear

Question 36

A coiled chamber within the skull containing hair cells that convert pressure waves into an electrical impulse that is sent to the brain.

Answer 36

cochlea

Question 37

The membrane that, with the cochlear duct, separates the upper and lower canal of the cochlea.

Answer 37

basilar membrane

Question 38

A fluid-filled cavity in the cochlea, next to the upper canal, that houses the organ of Corti.

Answer 38

cochlear duct

Question 39

A structure in the cochlear duct, supported by the basilar membrane, with specialized hair cells with stereocilia, that functions to convert mechanical vibrations to electrical impulses.

Answer 39

organ of Corti

Question 40

A rigid membrane in the cochlear duct, against which the stereocilia of hair cells in the organ of Corti bend when stimulated by vibration, setting off an action potential.

Answer 40

tectorial membrane

Question 41

The area of the brain that processes sound.

Answer 41

auditory cortex

Question 42

Using sound waves to locate an object; bats find insect prey by emitting short bursts of high-frequency sound that bounce off surrounding objects and are reflected to the bat’s ears.

Answer 42

echolocation

Question 43

A photosensitive protein that converts the energy of light photons into electrical signals in the receptor cell.

Answer 43

opsin

Question 44

An eye structure found in flatworms that contains photoreceptors that point up and to the left or right.

Answer 44

eyecups

Question 45

An eye structure found in insects and crustaceans that consists of a number of ommatidia, individual light-focusing elements.

Answer 45

compound eye

Question 46

An eye structure found in vertebrates and cephalopod mollusks that works like a camera to produce a sharply defined image of the animal’s visual field.

Answer 46

single-lens eye

Question 47

Individual light-focusing elements that make up the compound eyes of insects and crustaceans; the number of ommatidia determines the resolution of the image.

Answer 47

ommatidia

Question 48

A tough, white outer layer surrounding the vertebrate eye.

Answer 48

sclera

Question 49

The transparent portion of the sclera in the front of the vertebrate eye.

Answer 49

cornea

Question 50

An opening in the vertebrate eye through which light enters.

Answer 50

pupil

Question 51

A flexible structure in the vertebrate eye through which light passes after entering through the pupil; it is controlled by ciliary muscles that contract or relax to the adjust the shape of the lens to focus light images.

Answer 51

lens

Question 52

A clear watery liquid that fills the interior region in front of the lens of the vertebrate eye.

Answer 52

aqueous humor

Question 53

A gel-like substance filling the large cavity behind the lens that makes up most of the volume of the vertebrate eye.

Answer 53

vitreous humor

Question 54

A thin tissue in the posterior of the vertebrate eye that contains the photoreceptors and other nerve cells that sense and initially process light stimuli.

Answer 54

retina

Question 55

A derivative of vitamin A that absorbs light and binds to rhodopsin, a transmembrane protein in the photosensitive cells of vertebrates.

Answer 55

retinal

Question 56

A type of photoreceptor cell on the retina that detects color.

Answer 56

cone cells

Question 57

A type of photoreceptor cell on the retina that detects light and shades ranging from white to shades of gray and black, but not color.

Answer 57

rod cells

Question 58

The center of the visual field of most vertebrates, where cone cells are most concentrated; the region of greatest acuity.

Answer 58

fovea

Question 59

A type of interneuron in the retina that adjusts its release of neurotransmitter in response to input from rod and cone cells.

Answer 59

bipolar cell

Question 60

A type of interneuron in the retina that synapses with bipolar cells and, if activated, transmits action potentials along the optic nerve to the visual cortex in the brain.

Answer 60

ganglion cell

Question 61

A cranial nerve that transmits action potentials from ganglion cells in the retina to the visual cortex of the brain.

Answer 61

optic nerve

Question 62

The part of the brain that processes visual images.

Answer 62

visual cortex

Question 63

A type of interneuron in the retina that communicates between neighboring pairs of photoreceptors and bipolar cells, enhancing contrast through lateral inhibition to sharpen the image.

Answer 63

horizontal cell

Question 64

A type of interneuron in the retina that communicates between neighboring bipolar cells and ganglion cells, enhancing motion detection and adjusting for changes in illumination of the visual scene.

Answer 64

amacrine cell