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BIOL2052 - Neuroscience (1) > Sensory Systems > Flashcards

Sensory Systems Flashcards

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1
Q

What are the sensory systems?

A

Hearing, touch, vision, taste, smell, balance, thermoreception, nociception, proprioception

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2
Q

What types of energy can stimulate sensory systems?

A

Mechanical, chemical, light

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3
Q

What encodes the strength of a sensory stimulus?

A

Amplitude of generator potential and frequency of action potentials

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4
Q

What are the two ways a signal can be transmitted in response to a sensory stimulus?

A

Sensory neurones and epithelial receptors

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5
Q

What are the four extero-mechanoreceptors?

A

Merkel’s disc, Meissner’s corpuscle, Ruffini’s end organ, Pacinian corpuscle

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6
Q

Which extero-mechanoreceptors are deep?

A

Ruffini’s and Pacinian

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7
Q

Which extero-mechanoreceptors are superficial?

A

Merkel’s and Meissner’s

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8
Q

What are the three classes of special exteroreceptors?

A

Photoreceptors (rods and cones), mechanoreceptors (hair cells) and chemoreceptors (gustatory and olfactory)

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9
Q

What are the three classes of general exteroreceptors?

A

Mechanoreceptors, thermoreceptors, nociceptors

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10
Q

What are the general proprioceptors?

A

Mechanoreceptors: Golgi tendon organ, muscle spindle, joint capsule

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11
Q

What are the special proprioceptors?

A

Mechanoreceptors: Hair cells in otolith organs and semicircular canals

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12
Q

What are the ineroreceptors?

A

Baroceptors (mechanoreceptors), glucoreceptors and osmoreceptors (chemoreceptors)

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13
Q

What are the properties of tonic reception?

A

Slowly adapting, repeated membrane potential spikes throughout stimulus duration

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14
Q

What are the properties of phasic reception?

A

Rapidly adapting, membrane potential responses at the start and end of stimulus duration only

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15
Q

What determines the location of a shingles rash?

A

Which sensory nerve is infected by the virus

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16
Q

What is a receptive field?

A

Area of skin surface over which stimulation results in a change of action potentials

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17
Q

What effect does a high density of receptors have on the receptive field?

A

Smaller receptive fields of individual afferent fibres

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18
Q

What is 2-point discrimination a measure of?

A

Spatial acuity

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19
Q

Where on the body is the highest spatial acuity?

A

Fingertips

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20
Q

How do receptive fields and spatial acuity link?

A

Small receptive field -> high spatial acuity (and vice versa)

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21
Q

What is the dorsal column-medial lemniscal system?

A

Neurones transducing from the body to the somatosensory cortex

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22
Q

What is the trigeminothalamic system?

A

Neurones transducing from the face to the somatosensory cortex via the thalamus

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23
Q

What are the properties of the Pacinian corpuscle?

A

Sub-cutaneous, very large receptive field, very low spatial acuity, low density

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24
Q

What are the properties of Ruffini’s corpuscle?

A

Dermal, large receptive field, low spatial acuity, very low density

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25
What are the properties of Merkel's disc?
Dermal/epidermal, very small receptive field, very high spatial acuity, very high density
26
What are the properties of Meissner's corpuscle?
Epidermal, small receptive field, high spatial acuity, high density
27
What generates sound?
Movement of air molecules
28
What is the hearing range of humans?
20 - 20,000 Hz
29
How are signals amplified in the middle ear?
Force of large tympanic membrane focused onto small oval window
30
What is the basilar membrane?
Tapered structure that undulates up and down according to frequency
31
What are hair cells bathed in?
High [K+] endolymph
32
What type of input do outer hair cells receive?
Efferent
33
What type of input do inner hair cells receive?
Afferent
34
What is the kinocilium?
The longest stereocilium of a hair cell
35
What do stereocilia contain?
Actin filaments and microtubules
36
What are tip links?
Connections of mechanically gated ion channels on stereocilia
37
How do de- and hyperpolarisation of hair cells differ to neurones?
Both are K+-dependent
38
What is the graded response of stereocilia movement?
Generator potential
39
What is the tonotopic organisation of the basilar membrane an example of?
Labelled line coding
40
What do outer hair cells do?
Amplify motion of basilar membrane and enhance responsiveness of inner hair cells by electromotility
41
What do cochlear amplifiers do?
Enhance amplitude and sharpness of sounds
42
What are the steps of auditory signal amplification?
Acoustic energy -> basilar membrane displacement -> modulation of current thorough OHCs and AP generation by IHCs -> mechanical transduction of OHCs -> acoustic energy
43
Where does information from each ear enter the auditory system?
Superior olive in mid-pons
44
What is described by the Jeffress model?
Sound localisation in the horizontal plane
45
What is theorised in the Jeffress model?
Neural circuits can encode short inter-aural time differences by acting as coincidence detectors for two or more signals
46
Where does sound localisation in the horizontal plane take place?
Medial superior olive
47
What is detected by proprioception?
Limb position
48
What is detected by the vestibular system?
Head position, self-motion and spatial awareness
49
What type of movement is detected by otolith organs?
Translational
50
What type of movement is detected by semi-circular canals?
Rotational
51
What are the otolith organs?
Utricle and saccule
52
Where in semi-circular canals are hair cells located?
Ampullae
53
Which movement plane is sensed by utricles?
Horizontal
54
Which movement plan is sensed by saccules?
Vertical
55
What is the macula?
Sensory epithelium of utricles and saccules
56
What is the otolithic membrane?
Gel layer with calcium carbonate crystals (otoconia)
57
Where is the reticular membrane?
Between hair cells and otolithic membrane
58
What is the striola?
Axis of symmetry for head position sensing, to which stereocilia are orientated towards
59
How many semi-circular canals are in each ear?
Three
60
How does transduction occur in vestibular hair cells?
Open K+ channels depolarise cells, triggering glutamate release
61
Where are vestibular signals integrated?
Brainstem
62
What does the vestibular-ocular reflex control?
Stabilising movement of eyes when the head moves
63
What is oscillopsia?
Damage to vestibular system causing bouncing vision

BIOL2052 - Neuroscience (1) (9 decks)

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