the senses

Question 1

What is transduction?

Answer 1

The process by which external energy is converted into neural signals the brain can process.

Question 2

Which senses rely on transduction?

Answer 2

All senses (vision, hearing, smell, taste, touch).

Question 3

What kind of energy does vision detect?

Answer 3

Electromagnetic energy (light).

Question 4

What receptors are used in vision?

Answer 4

Rods and cones (photoreceptors) in the retina.

Question 5

What kind of energy does hearing detect?

Answer 5

Air pressure (sound) waves.

Question 6

What receptors are used in hearing?

Answer 6

Hair cells on the basilar membrane (mechanoreceptors).

Question 7

What kind of stimuli do smell and taste detect?

Answer 7

Chemical composition of odour and food molecules.

Question 8

What receptors are used in smell and taste?

Answer 8

Chemoreceptors in the olfactory epithelium and taste buds.

Question 9

What stimuli does touch detect?

Answer 9

Physical pressure and temperature.

Question 10

What receptors are used in touch?

Answer 10

Mechanoreceptors and thermoreceptors in the skin.

Question 11

How is sound transduced in the ear?

Answer 11

Hair cells in the cochlea bend against the tectorial membrane, creating neural signals.

Question 12

What is the Place Theory of hearing?

Answer 12

Different frequencies stimulate different places on the basilar membrane.

Question 13

What is the Matching Theory of hearing?

Answer 13

Auditory nerve activity matches the frequency of sound for low frequencies.

Question 14

Where is the primary auditory cortex located?

Answer 14

In the temporal lobe.

Question 15

What does the anterior auditory pathway do?

Answer 15

Identifies “what” a sound is.

Question 16

What does the posterior auditory pathway do?

Answer 16

Locates “where” a sound is in space.

Question 17

What kind of light can the human eye detect?

Answer 17

Visible light (a small part of the electromagnetic spectrum).

Question 18

What part of the eye focuses light on the retina?

Answer 18

The lens.

Question 19

What is the function of the retina?

Answer 19

Transduces light into electrical signals.

Question 20

What are rods responsible for?

Answer 20

Vision in dim light (black and white).

Question 21

What are cones responsible for?

Answer 21

Color vision in bright light.

Question 22

What colors do cones detect?

Answer 22

Red (L), Green (M), Blue (S).

Question 23

What do horizontal and amacrine cells do?

Answer 23

Integrate signals from multiple photoreceptors.

Question 24

What is a receptive field?

Answer 24

A region of the retina sending signals to one ganglion cell.

Question 25

What is the visual pathway?

Answer 25

Retina → Optic nerve → LGN → Visual cortex (V1).

Question 26

What is a scotoma?

Answer 26

A blind spot in the visual field due to V1 damage.

Question 27

What does V4 process?

Answer 27

Color perception.

Question 28

What does V5/MT process?

Answer 28

Motion perception.

Question 29

What is the dorsal visual stream?

Answer 29

The "where" pathway (spatial location).

Question 30

What is the ventral visual stream?

Answer 30

The "what" pathway (object recognition).

Question 31

What is the largest sensory organ?

Answer 31

The skin.

Question 32

What do Merkel's disks detect?

Answer 32

Light touch.

Question 33

What do Pacinian corpuscles detect?

Answer 33

Deep pressure and vibration.

Question 34

What do Ruffini endings detect?

Answer 34

Skin stretch and pressure.

Question 35

What do thermoreceptors detect?

Answer 35

Heat and cold.

Question 36

What do nociceptors detect?

Answer 36

Pain from mechanical, thermal, or chemical sources.

Question 37

What is the dorsal-column medial-lemniscus pathway?

Answer 37

Carries fine touch and proprioception signals.

Question 38

What is the anterolateral pathway?

Answer 38

Carries pain and temperature signals.

Question 39

Where is the primary somatosensory cortex?

Answer 39

Posterior to the central sulcus.

Question 40

How is the somatosensory cortex organized?

Answer 40

Topographically (e.g., more area for hands than legs).

Question 41

Where is taste transduced?

Answer 41

In taste buds on the papillae of the tongue.

Question 42

How is salt detected?

Answer 42

Sodium enters via channels, depolarizing the cell.

Question 43

How is sour detected?

Answer 43

Hydrogen ions from acids depolarize the cell.

Question 44

Why is bitterness important?

Answer 44

Often signals toxic substances.

Question 45

What chemical is umami associated with?

Answer 45

Glutamate (e.g., in MSG, soy sauce).

Question 46

Why is spice not a taste?

Answer 46

It activates pain receptors (e.g., capsaicin).

Question 47

What is the gustatory signal pathway?

Answer 47

Taste buds → Cranial nerves → Thalamus → Insular cortex.

Question 48

What is flavour influenced by?

Answer 48

Multisensory input: taste, smell, texture, temperature, etc.

Question 49

What is the primary smell structure?

Answer 49

Olfactory epithelium connected to the olfactory bulb.

Question 50

How does olfactory transduction work?

Answer 50

Odorant binds to specific receptors → mitral cells → brain.

Question 51

What is unique about the olfactory pathway?

Answer 51

It bypasses the thalamus.

Question 52

Where does the olfactory bulb project?

Answer 52

Amygdala, hypothalamus, hippocampus, frontal cortex.

Question 53

What is anosmia?

Answer 53

Loss of smell (can affect flavour and mood).

Question 54

What is parosmia?

Answer 54

Distorted smell perception.

Question 55

What is phantosmia?

Answer 55

Smelling things that aren't there (hallucinations).