PHYSIOLOGY OF

THE SPECIAL
SENSES 1

dr. Sophie Yolanda, MBiomed

REVIEW
THE NERVOUS SYSTEM
REFLEX ARC
SENSORY PATHWAY
STIMULUS: PROPERTIES
• Modality
• Location
• Intensity and Duration
MODALITY
• Each type of stimulus will be responded
by a specific receptor (except pain →
polymodal)
• The brain associates a signal coming from
a specific group of receptors with a
specific modality → labeled line coding
LOCATION
• The location of a stimulus is coded
by these mechanisms:
• Receptive field
• Lateral inhibition
• Somatotopy
→ Two point
discrimination/sensitivity/acuity
RECEPTIVE FIELD
LATERAL INHIBITION
SOMATOTOPY
TWO POINT DISCRIMINATION
INTENSITY AND DURATION
• Intensity and duration of a stimulus are
coded by these mechanisms:
• Frequency and duration of action potential
• Receptor adaptation
FREQUENCY AND DURATION
OF ACTION POTENTIAL
RECEPTOR ADAPTATION
SENSORY PATHWAY
The process of learning and
memory begin with sensation…
The beginning of sensation is
at the receptor!
Minarma Siagian
SENSORY RECEPTORS
SENSORY PATHWAY
TRANSDUCTION
• The process of converting stimulus
energy into information that can be
processed by the nervous system →
electrical energy (change in membrane
potential → receptor potential → action
potential)
TRANSDUCTION
SITE OF ACTION POTENTIAL
INITIATION
SENSORY PATHWAY
SENSORY PATHWAY
SENSORY CORTEX
PERCEPTION
SENSORY PATHWAY
PERCEPTION

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”

quoted from Plato
VISION
VISION
• Stimulus: Light
Refraction
• Receptor: Retina
Transduction
• Afferent Pathway: Optic Nerve
• Center: Visual Cortex
• Perception
 LIGHT
Ultra- Short- AC
Gamma X rays violet Infrared Radar FM TV wave AM electricity

-12 -8 -4 4 8
10 10 10 1 10 10
Wavelength in meters (m)
Visible light

400 nm 500 nm 600 nm 700 nm

Wavelength in nanometers (nm)
REFRACTION
REFRACTION MEDIA:
THE EYE
 IRIS AND PUPIL

Pupillary constriction/miosis Pupillary dilation/midriasis

LENS: ACCOMODATION
FOCUSING THE LIGHT
REFRACTION
ABNORMALITIES
REFRACTION
ABNORMALITIES
RETINA
• 2 photoreceptors
• Rods
• Cones
• 4 neurons
• Horizontal cells
• Bipolar cells
• Amacrine cells
• Ganglion cells
PHOTORECEPTORS
PHOTORECEPTORS
RETINA
RETINA:
BLIND SPOT, MACULA
PHOTOTRANSDUCTION
FURTHER RETINAL
PROCESSING
• Bipolar cells respond differentially
to color, intensity, form, depth and
movement
• Ganglion cells respond to changes
in photoreceptor membrane
potentials by transmitting trains of
action potentials
FURTHER RETINAL
PROCESSING
RETINAL
PROCESSING
LINK TO VIDEOS
• http://www.interactive-
biology.com/category/ibtv/physiolo
gy/
• Senses: video 029
• Visual System: videos 030-035
VISUAL PATHWAY
“. . . And please let Mom, Dad, Rex,
Ginger, Tucker, me and all the rest of the
family see color.”
COLOR VISION
• L-cones, most sensitive to red light (610 nm)
• M-cones, most sensitive to green light (560 nm)
• S-cones, most sensitive to blue light (430 nm)
LIGHT DARK ADAPTATION
SUMMARY
REFERENCES
• Bear MF, Connors BW, Paradiso MA. Neuroscience
exploring the Brain, 3rd ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott
Williams and Wilkins. 2007.
• Sherwood L. Human Physiology from cells to
system, 7th ed. Australia. Brooks/Cole Cengange
Learning. 2011.
• Silverthorn DU. Human physiology: an integrated
approach. 5th ed. San Francisco. Pearson
Education, Inc. 2010.
• Biotech Review. Visual phototransduction. 2011.
Available from:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIPE3in2EcQ
THANK YOU