SENSORY SYSTEM
•The sensory system detects signals from the
outside environment and communicates it to
the body via the nervous system.
•The sensory system relies on specialized
sensory receptor cells that transduce external
stimuli into changes in membrane potentials.
SENSORY RECEPTOR
•Specialized neurons (the receptor cell is also
a neuron)
•specialized sensory cells which synapse with
a neuron (the receptor cell secretes
neurotransmitters to stimulate changes in
membrane potential in the synapsed
neuron)
•Sensory receptor cells transduce (convert into
changes in membrane potential) incoming
signals and may either depolarize or
hyperpolarize in response to the stimulus,
depending on the sensory system.
•In vertebrates, each sensory system transmits
signals to a different specialized portion of the
brain such as the olfactory bulb (smell) or
occipital lobe (sight), where the signal is
integrated and interpreted to effect some sort
of response (often motor output) via the PNS.
•Different sensory receptor cells are
specialized for different types of stimuli, and
are categorized by the type of stimulus they
detect.
TYPES OF SENSORY RECEPTOR
MECHANORECEPTORS
•Mechanoreceptors are receptors in the skin
and on other organs that detect sensations of
touch.
•They are called mechanoreceptors because
they are designed to detect mechanical
sensations or differences in pressure.
THERMORECEPTORS
•Thermoreceptors are specialized nerve cells
that are able to detect differences in
temperature. Temperature is a relative
measure of heat present in the environment.
•Are able to detect heat and cold and are
found throughout the skin in order to allow
sensory reception throughout the body.
•The location and number of
thermoreceptors will determine the
sensitivity of the skin to temperature changes.
CHEMORECEPTORS
•Chemoreceptor, also known as chemosensor,
is a specialized sensory receptor cell which
converts a chemical
substance and generates a biological signal.
•It detects toxic or hazardous chemicals in the
internal or external environment of the human
body and transmits that information to the
central nervous system, in order to expel the
biologically active toxins from the blood,and
prevent further consumption of alcohol and/or
other acutely toxic
PHOTORECEPTORS
•Special cells in the eye’s retina that are
responsible for converting light into signals
that are sent to the brain.
•Photoreceptors give us our color vision and
night vision.
TYPES OF PROTOCEPTORS CELLS
•Rods are a type of photoreceptor cell in the
retina
•They are sensitive to light levels and help give
us good vision in low light.
•They are concentrated in the outer areas of
the retina and give us peripheral vision.
•Rods are 500 to 1,000 times more sensitive to
light than cones
•The retina has approximately 120 million
rods and 6 million
•Cones are a type of photoreceptor
cell in the retina
•They give us our color vision
•Cones are concentrated in the center of
our retina in an area called the macula and
help us see fine details.
•The retina has approximately 120 million rods
and 6 million cones
.
PAIN RECEPTORS
•A nociceptor ("pain receptor") is a
sensory neuron that responds to damaging or
potentially damaging stimuli by sending
“possible threat” signals to the spinal cord and
the brain.
•If the brain perceives the threat as credible, it
creates the sensation of pain to direct attention
to the body part, so the threat can hopefully be
mitigated; this process is called nociception
.
LIGHT RECEPTION IN ANIMALS
VISION IN INVERTEBRATES
Most invertebrates
•Have some sort of light-detecting organ
One of the simplest is the eye cup of
planarians
•Which provides information about light
intensity and direction but does not form
images
•Two major types of image-forming eyes have
evolved in invertebrates
•Compound eyes are found in insects and
crustaceans and consist of up to several
thousand light detectors called ommatidia
•Single-lens eyes are found in some jellies,
polychaetas, spiders, and many mollusks
THE VERTEBRATE VISUAL
SYSTEM
In vertebrates the human eye is able to:
•Detect a vast variety of colors,
•Form images of objects that are far away,
•Respond to as little as one photo of light.
STRUCTURE OF THE EYE
•Conjunctiva, covers the surface of the eye
and lines the inner parts of the eyelids. It
functions in keeping the eyes moist.
•Sclera, the white of the eye. It forms a wall
and maintains the shape of the eyeball.
•Cornea, a transparent that works like a
camera lens and focuses incoming light.
•Choroid, a thin pigmented layer, that
contains major blood vessels and functions to
provide oxygen and nutrients to the eye.
•Iris, formed from the anterior choroid and
gives the eye its color. It controls the amount
of light that enters the pupil.
•Pupil, an opening in the center of the iris.
•Retina, inside the choroid and forms the
innermost layer of the eyeball and contains
photoreceptor cells
THE HUMAN EAR
Ear, organ of hearing and equilibrium that
detects and analyzes sound by transduction
(or the conversion of sound waves into
electrochemical impulses) and maintains the
sense of balance (equilibrium).
OUTER EAR
The outer part of the ear collects sound.
Sound travels through the auricle and the
auditory canal, a short tube that ends at the
eardrum.
•Auricle (cartilage covered by skin placed on
opposite sides of the head)
•Auditory canal (also called the ear canal)
•Eardrum outer layer (also called the
tympanic membrane)
MIDDLE EAR
The primary function of the middle ear is to
efficiently transfer acoustic energy from
compression waves in air to fluid–membrane
waves within the cochlea
•eardrum
•cavity (also called the tympanic cavity)
•ossicles (3 tiny bones that are attached)
•malleus (or hammer) – long handle attached
to the eardrum
•incus (or anvil) – the bridge bone between
the malleus and the stapes
•stapes (or stirrup) – the footplate; the
smallest bone in the body
The inner ear has two special jobs. It changes
sound waves to electrical signals (nerve
impulses). This allows the brain to hear and
understand sounds. The inner ear is also
important for balance.
•oval window – connects the middle ear with
the inner ear
•semicircular ducts – filled with fluid;
attached to cochlea and nerves; send
information on balance and head position to
the brain
•cochlea – spiral-shaped organ of hearing;
transforms sound into signals that get sent to
the brain
•auditory tube – drains fluid from the middle
ear into the throat behind the nose
TASTE:
THE GUSTATORY SYSTEM
•The primary tastes detected by humans are
sweet, sour, bitter, salty and umami
(savoriness, which tends to indicate that
a food is high in protein).
•Detecting a taste relies on activation of
specific chemical receptors in taste
receptor cells (gustatory receptors).
TASTE BUDS
•The primary organ of taste is the
taste bud.
•A
taste bud is a cluster of gustatory receptors
(taste receptor cells) that are located within the
bumps on the tongue
called papillae (singular: papilla).
•Each taste bud contains all five types of
gustatory receptors, which are elongated cells
with hair-like processes called
microvilli at the tips that extend into the taste
bud pore.
•Tastants must be dissolved in saliva to bind
with and stimulate the receptors on the
microvilli, which is why the sense of taste isn’t
as strong when your mouth is dry.
SMELL:
THE OLFACTORY SYSTEM
•Humans have about 350 olfactory
receptor subtypes that work in various
combinations to allow us to sense about
10,000 different odors.
•Olfactory receptors are responsible for the
flavor of a food, via odorants detected in the
olfactory epithelium during chewing, through a
process called retronasal olfaction (the flow
of air from the back of the throat up to the
olfactory epithelium via the back of the nose