LESSON 7: SENSORY MECHANISMS Receptor which detect heat and cold, called thermoreceptors are found underneath the

, called thermoreceptors are found underneath the skin

and deep in the body.
Snakes see differently from other animals. They use pit organs which detect infrared
radiation emitted by other animals. Moreover, pit organs have somatosensory receptor which MECHANORECEPTORS

sense touch, temperature and pain.

Different types of mechanical energy such as touch, pressure, bending , movement, and

Different sense organs are used to detect the different types of stimuli. Each sense organ has sound are detected by various kinds of mechanoreceptors.

receptors specific for its function. Eyes have receptors for light detection, ears for sound and
CHEMORECEPTORS
balance; tongue for taste; and nose for odor.
These types of receptors are found in the human nose and taste buds which are sensitive to
SENSORY RECEPTORS
the chemicals outside the body. Some receptors found inside the body sense the change in the

Our senses detect the different stimuli present in our environment. This is facilitated by oxygen level in the blood.

sensory receptors which are sensitive to the different conditions of the external and internal
ELECTROMAGNETIC RECEPTORS
environment. This condition detected by the sensory receptors induced action potential
production in the receptor cell which then conveys the signals to the central nervous system. Electricity, magnetism, and different wavelengths of light are sensed by electromagnetic
receptors. The eyes of different animals use photoreceptors to detect light energy , using
Different combinations of sensory receptors enable us to make sense of the varied stimuli
similar pigment; hence; the eyes of animals may have arisen from a common ancestor.
from our environment. These sensory receptor can be classified as Pain receptor,
Mechanoreceptor, chemoreceptor, and electromagnetic receptor. Skin contains several THE SKIN

sensory receptor and the sensory receptors present in our skin are pain, thermoreceptor, and The skin has two layer; epidermis and dermis.
mechanoreceptors.
Epidermis – is the outermost layer composed of several layer of epithelial cells. The cell
PAIN RECEPTORS division of the bottom layer replaces the cell on the top layer that gets abraded or damaged

Also known as noiceceptors its detect abnormally high heat, pressure, or chemical from every two weeks. The space between the cell are filled with keratin and glycolipid.

injured tissues which are found to be most concentrated in the skin. These stimuli are usually Dermis- the dermis layer contains connective tissue, muscles, nerves, hair follicles, oil and
associated with injury or disease. sweat glands sensory receptors and blood vessels. beneath the dermis is the hypodermis, a
layer of fat which also aids in insulation. Beneath the dermis is the hypodermis, a layer of fat
which also aids in insulation.
THE EAR
The ear is the organ of hearing and balance. The parts of the ear include external or outer
ear, consisting of pinna or auricle. The function of the outer ear, is to trap sound waves and
direct them to the eardrum which is part of the middle ear. The vibrations produced by the
eardrum are intensified in three bones hammer anvil, and stirrup, These are passes on to the
cochlea. The cochlea is one of the canals filled with fluid in the inner ear. It contains several
other canals. One of the which is the organ of Corti which is made up of hair cells that act as
sensory cell. The sensory cell cells create synapsis with the sensory neurons conveying
signals to the brain through the auditory nerve. The semicircular canals inside the inner ear
detect head movement and position. When the head moves, the fluid inside the canals also
move with the hair. Equilibrium receptors send signals to the brain.
THE EYES
Animals may differ in the mechanisms used to detect light, but everyone uses
Photoreceptors. These receptors are pigments which absorb the light. The same receptors are
found in the organ used by invertebrates. For instance, flatworms, like Planarians which have
a simple eye cup yet cannot form images but can sense light. However, such structures allow
the animal to envade the light source by hiding in the dark place because they also have an
eyespot called Ocelli. The Ocelli are sensitive to the light.
MOST INVERTEBRATES HAVE EVOLVED COMPOUND EYES AND SIGLE-
LENS EYES WHICH CAN FORM IMAGES.
•COMPOUND EYES
Are made up of thousands of photoreceptors called Ommatidia. Such eyes used by the insects
to sense movement to detect predators and spot flowers rich in nectar through ultraviolet light
or color vision.
•SINGLE-LENS EYES
Are found in the invertebrates such as squids. Humans also have single-lens eyes but these
have evolved independently from the invertebrates. Small differences in detail, however, can
be seen from the eyes of the squids and the humans. In the human eye, light enters through
the pupil. The iris controls the amount of light that passes through the lens which
concentrates light into the retina. The photoreceptors found in the retina, which are mostly
found in the fovea, which convert lights into action potential through the sensory neurons in
the optic nerve towards the brain. Moreover, Humans have blind spot; found where the optic
nerve exits the eyes.
A connective tissue called sclera covers the eyes. In the middle of the eyes, the sclera
changes into the cornea, which is transparent in order to allow the entry of the light and aid
in focusing it, beneath the sclera is choroid; it is responsible for the eye color. Furthermore
two chambers filled with fluid are present in the eye divided by the lens, At the back of the
lens is the bigger chamber called the vitreous humor, while at the front is the smaller
chamber called the aqueous humor. Both humors are responsible for the eye shape, but the
aqueous humor has circulatory functions. It carries nutrients and oxygen to the different parts
of the eye and collects waste.
 The conjunctiva is a mucous membrane on the surface of the eye, lining the back of the
eyelid and the white of the eye to keep them moist. Tear glands also moisten the eye surface
and cleanses it with tears which empty into the nasal cavities.

How does the eye see objects? The eyes of squids have a hard lens which can move back
and forth when focusing. The human eye, in contrast, is soft; hence, its shape can be changed
when focusing. When looking at near objects, the lens becomes round and thick, enabling
light from the object to focus. When the object is far, the lens becomes more flat and thinner
when focusing on the object.

TASTE AND ODOR

The perception of a smell occurs when substances in the air pass through the nose and
stimulate the olfactory (smell) nerve. The experience of taste, or gustation, occurs when the
taste buds in your mouth respond to substances dissolved in saliva. The four basic tastes are
salty, sweet sour and bitter. The nasal cavity is lined with sensory receptors located at the tip
of the cilia. When you smell something, the molecules bind to the receptors and trigger
action potentials that are sent to the brain for processing and interpretation. It is then that you
"smell" the odor. The taste buds in the tongue are evolved epithelial cells that become
sensory cells. A taste bud can sense only one of the five tastes (sweet, bitter, salty, sour, and
umami (Japanese for delicious), but a region of the tongue can have taste bud for all five
tastes, Hence, the taste map is no longer true. Smell enhances or diminishes the flavor or
taste of food.