Senses

Question 1

Rods

Answer 1

Sensitive to light, responsible for night vision

Question 2

Cones

Answer 2

3 types: red, green, blue (each are sensitive to their corresponding light)

Question 3

Phototransduction cascade

Answer 3

When light hits a rod, the rod turns off. This turns the bipolar cell on, which turns the retinal ganglion cell on, which sends a signal to the optic nerve

Question 4

What protein do rods contain?

Answer 4

Rhodopsin

Question 5

What protein do cones contain?

Answer 5

Photopsin

Question 6

How do the recovery times of rods and cones compare?

Answer 6

Rods have a very slow recovery time (takes a while for eyes to adjust to the dark), while cones have a fast recovery time (can rapidly adjust to changes in illumination)

Question 7

Are rods or cones more sensitive to light?

Answer 7

Rods are 1000X more sensitive to light. Rods are very good at detecting if light is present (black vs. white), while cones primarily detect color, but also some light.

Question 8

Blind spot

Answer 8

Point at which the optic nerve connects to the periphery, no rods or cones

Question 9

How does the distribution of rods and cones differ?

Answer 9

Rods are found mainly in the periphery, whereas cones are found mainly in the fovea.

Question 10

In which part of the brain is information from the right side processed? Information from the right side?

Answer 10

Information from the right side is processed in the left side of the brain and vice versa

Question 11

Trichromatic Theory of color

Answer 11

Our cones see three colors: red, blue, and green

Question 12

Parallel processing

Answer 12

ability to detect color, form, and motion at the same time

Question 13

How is form detected?

Answer 13

The parvoceullar pathway This pathway has good spatial resolution (shape), but poor temporal (motion)

Question 14

How is motion detected?

Answer 14

The magnocellular pathway Has poor spatial resolution, but good temporal

Question 15

Sensory adaptation

Answer 15

Change over time of a receptor to a constant stimulus through down regulation of a sensory receptor in the body

Question 16

Amplification

Answer 16

The opposite of sensory adaptation, occurs through upregulation of the sensory receptors

Question 17

Somatosensory Homunculus

Answer 17

Part of the sensory cortex, located in the parietal cortex Different parts of the body signal to different parts of the strip

Question 18

Proprioception

Answer 18

Sense of balance/position

Question 19

Kinanesthesia

Answer 19

The body’s sense of movement, more behavioral than proprioception

Question 20

Nociception

Answer 20

Ability to sense pain, slow process

Question 21

Thermoception

Answer 21

Ability to sense temperature, slow process

Question 22

3 Types of Nerve Fibers (A-B, A-D, C)

Answer 22

A-beta fibers: fast, thick, covered in myelin A-delta fibers: smaller, less myelin C fibers: smaller, unmyelinated (give a lingering sense of pain)

Question 23

Gate control theory of pain

Answer 23

Noxious stimuli can prevent pain from traveling to the CNS

Question 24

Pheromone

Answer 24

Chemical signal released by one member of a species and received by another to trigger an innate response

Specialized olfactory cells

Question 25

Olfactory bulb

Answer 25

Bundles of nerves extending from the brain

Each rececptor at the end is sensitive to one type of molecule. Receptors work through GCPR

Question 26

Labeled line theory of olfaction

Answer 26

Each receptor binds to a specific stimuli and extends into the brain

Question 27

Vibrational theory of olfaction

Answer 27

Vibrational frequency of a molecule gives it its odor profile

Question 28

Steric theory of olfaction

Answer 28

Odors fit into receptors like a lock and key

Question 29

Anosmia

Answer 29

Inability to perceive odor

Question 30

What are the five tastes and what receptors do they use?

Answer 30

Bitter, salty, sweet, sour, umami (ability to taste glutamate)

Bitter, sweet, and umami use GCPRs

Salty and sour use ion gated channels

Question 31

Labeled Lines Model of Taste

Answer 31

Each taste bud receptor has 5 different axons, all which send different taste information to different parts of the gustatory cortex

Question 32

Describe the areas of the cerebral cortex

Answer 32

Frontal lobe: motor cortex, executive function, Broca’s area

Parietal lobe: somatosensory cortex

Temporal lobe: hearing, Wernicke’s area

Occipital lobe: vision

Question 33

What parts of the brain make up the brainstem?

Answer 33

Pons, reticular formation, medulla

The pons is involved in relaxation, the reticular formation is involved in motivation and alertness,and the medulla is involved in autonomic activity of the heart and lungs

Question 34

What is the role of the thalamus?

Answer 34

Sensory functions (all sensory pathways travel through the thalamus)