Sensation & Perception Lecture 3

Mechanical pressure: ear, skin and body

Sensory Transduction
Transforming physical information into neural signals.
Four types of receptors in humans:
1. Photoreceptors sense light
2. Mechanoreceptors sense mechanical pressure
3. Chemoreceptors sense molecules
4. Thermoreceptors sense temperature

Mechanical pressure

Mechanoreceptors
Physically deforming a mechanoreceptor causes ion
channels to open, which causes the cell to fire.
Mechanical forces can provide a wide range of
information
1. Movement of hair cells in the inner ear

hearing
inertia
gravity

2. Pressure and stretch receptors in the skin, muscles, and organs

Light touch
Texture
Stretch
Pain
Body position
Body movement
Interoception

1. Hair cells in the inner ear

Three functions
- Sound perception (cochlea)
- Head motion perception
(semicircular canals)
- Gravity perception (vestibular
labyrinth)

Sound is a (sine) wave of moving air.

PS1009 Perception: Sensory Transduction

The range of human hearing: variable, but ~12Hz to 20KHz

The function of the

ear is to channel
and amplify sound
waves.

PS1009 Perception: Sensory Transduction

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jyxhozq89g

Auditory Hair Cells

Ion channels on adjacent hairs are
connected by a tip link. Movement of
the hair cells pulls the ion channels
open, depolarizing (activating) the cell.

PS1009 Perception: Sensory Transduction

Hearing damage prolonged exposure to

>85dB, or sudden exposure to 120-145dB

PS1009 Perception: Sensory Transduction

Mechanoreceptors in the cochlea provide:

Loudness amplitude of sound wave increases firing rate
Pitch which part of the cochlea is activated
Timbre composite frequencies simultaneous activation
of multiple locations on the cochlea
NOT Location this comes from time and volume
differences between the two ears (more on this later!)

Hair cells in the semicircular canals:

head motion

Semicircular canals contain endolymph

Acceleration and deceleration of rotational head movement endolymph
movement lags behind the hair cells, causes them to bend
Changes in viscosity of endolymph can interfere with perception: alcohol,
Mnire's disease

Hair cells in the vestibular labyrinth:

gravity

Inner ears also contain the otolith organs

Gravity shifts the otoliths (small crystals) against hair cells
Provides sense of head position relative to upright, and
inertia

2. Mechanoreceptors in the skin

Multiple systems: light touch, firm pressure, vibration,
pain, and skin stretch
All types respond to physical deformation
Receptors shapes are specialized for different types of pressure

Skin is also specialized

High sensitivity to light touch

High acuity for texture

Less slippery when wet

Haptic touch: exploring objects

with your cutaneous
mechanoreceptors

Vibrations = roughness/texture
Pressure = firmness
Position of fingers around object = shape
Skin stretch = weight

Pain (nociception)
Free nerve endings respond to tissue damage
But pain experience is not well correlated with
activity in free nerve endings
Highly influenced by context and emotion
Pain signals are gated from entering the
brain -- can be blocked by endorphins

Distribution of touch receptors

The two-point discrimination
threshold
Touch the skin with one or two points.
Gradually move the points closer together.
At some point two will feel like one.
This distance is the two-pointdiscrimination threshold.
If two points stimulate two different
receptors, you will feel two points. If two
points stimulate only one receptor, you will
feel only one.
Density of receptors in the skin is highest
on the hands and face, lowest on the
upper arm, calf, etc.

Proprioception (body position), kinesthesis (body

movements) and interoception (body state)
Stretch receptors in
muscles and tendons: lowlevel (spinal/brain stem)
control + perceptual input

Also, stretch receptors in

smooth muscle (e.g. lungs,
bladder, stomach, bowels):
low level (spinal/brain
stem) control + perceptual
input

Mechanoreceptors - summary
Physically deforming mechanoreceptors changes their firing
Mechanical forces provide a wide range of sensory
information: sound, gravity, pressure, texture, and body state
Hair cells in the cochlea move in response to sound waves
amplified by the ear, the basis for audition
Other hair cells in the ear provide the vestibular sense
Mechanoreceptors in skin and body provide somatosensation
Different shapes, sizes, depths, and sensitivity of receptors in
the skin provide tactile information, including nociception
Other stretch receptors in the body provide kinesthesis,
proprioception, and interoception
PS1009 Perception: Sensory Transduction

Sensory Transduction
Transforming physical information into neural signals.
Four types of receptors in humans:
1. Photoreceptors sense light
2. Mechanoreceptors sense mechanical pressure
3. Chemoreceptors sense molecules
4. Thermoreceptors sense temperature

Chemoreceptors
Function like a lock and key: specific classes of
receptors are sensitive to specific molecule
types.
Found in three locations (among others):
a) tongue (gustation)
b) nasal epithelium (olfaction)
c) the respiratory system (breathing)

PS1009 Perception: Sensory Transduction

The tongue (gustation)

Each of the papillae on the tongue contains multiple taste buds
Each taste bud contains multiple chemoreceptors
Five (known) receptor types: salty, sweet, bitter, sour, and
savory (AKA umami).

PS1009 Perception: Sensory Transduction

Aguesia: inability to taste

Temporary loss of taste is

common.
Permanent aguesia is rare.
Usually caused by nerve
damage or deformity

PS1009 Perception: The Sensory Brain