Chapter 4 – The Sensory System o Proprioceptor – receptors for body awareness of
position, posture and movement.
External Sensation
- Is the process of knowing material, concrete stimuli through
the external senses namely: vision, audition, olfaction,
gustation, and cutaneous sensation.
The Four Elements of External Sensation
1. Stimulus
- refers to any aspect of the world that influences our
behavior or conscious experience
- the physical element of external sensation.
- Threshold Stimulus – the minimum amount of stimulus that
is capable of producing a sensation.
2. Receptor
- refers to any structure in our body that is excitable to
stimuli
- is a peripheral termination of a sensory or afferent fibers
- 3 Types of Receptors:
o Exteroceptor – receptors that are found on the
external surface of the body that receive external
stimuli.
Examples:
 Vision – Rods and Cones
 Audition – Cochlear cells
 Olfaction – Olfactory cells
 Gustation – Taste Buds
 Cutaneous Sensation – a variety of
somatosensory receptors
Examples:
 Muscle Spindle – provide information
about changes in muscle length
 Golgi Tendon Organ – provide
information about changes in muscle
tension
o Interoceptor/Visceroceptor - receptors that detects
stimulus within the body. Examples of stimuli that
would be detected by interoceptors include blood
pressure and blood oxygen level.
3. Transmissor
- Refers to the bundle of nerve fibers (called fiber tracts) that
convey sensory messages or impulses from one neuron to
the next and finally to the brain.
4. Brain Center
o Primary Sensory Area – responsible for basic
sensory information
o Secondary and Association Areas – together with
the Primary Sensory Area, provides meaningful
perception of stimulus
Visual Sense
- Deemed as the most valued of all external senses.
- The Four Elements/Conditions of the Visual Sense:
o Visual Stimulus – LIGHT WAVES
 Red –longest wavelength
 Violet – shortest wavelength
o Visual Receptor – RODS & CONES
  Fovea – point of clearest vision in the retina
 CONES
 Conical Shape
 Concentrated at the Center
 Daytime Vision
 Sensitive to Color
 RODS
 Tubular in shape
 Concentrated at the Periphery
 Night time Vision
 Not Sensitive to Color.
o Visual Transmissor – OPTIC NERVE
 Blind Spot – point in the retina devoid of
rods and cones because it is the point of
exit by the optic nerve
o Brain Center – OCCIPITAL LOBE OF THE BRAIN
 Primary Visual Area – responsible for basic
visual information
 Secondary and Association Areas –
together with the Primary Visual Area,
provides meaningful perception of stimulus
Stimulus
- Stimuli → Chemical Substances
- State → Gas and Liquid form
Receptor
- Olfaction → Olfactory cells within the nose
- Gustation → Taste Buds spread on the tongue
Transmissor
- Olfaction →Olfactory Nerve
- Gustation
o Facial Nerve → Anterior 2/3 of tongue
o Glossopharyngeal Nerve → Posterior 1/3 of tongue
Brain Center
- Primary olfactory area →temporal lobe (odor)
- Primary gustatory area → lower portion of frontal lobe
(flavor)
Cutaneous Sensation

Auditory Sense -

Olfactory and Gustatory Senses

- Nose → Smell
- Tongue → Taste
- Similar stimuli but Different states