Sensory receptors

Sensory receptors transduce (change) different

forms of energy in the “real world” into the energy
of nerve impulses that are conducted into the
CNS by sensory neurons.

Different forms of sensation—sound, light,

pressure, and so forth—result from differences in
neural pathways and synaptic connections.

The brain interprets impulses arriving from the

auditory nerve as sound and from the optic nerve
as sight, even though the impulses themselves
are identical in the two nerves.
The sensory receptors may be:
1. The dendritic endings of sensory neurons. These
dendritic endings may be free, such as those that
respond to pain and temperature, or encapsulated
within nonneural structures, such as those that
respond to pressure
2. The photoreceptors in the retina of the eyes (rods
and cones) are highly specialized neurons that
synapse with other neurons in the retina.
3. In the case of taste buds & of hair cells in the inner
ears, modified epithelial cells respond to an
environmental stimulus and activate sensory neurons.
 Classification of sensory receptors

Sensory receptors can be grouped according to the type

of stimulus energy they transduce. These categories
include
(1) Chemoreceptors, which sense chemical stimuli in
the environment or the blood (e.g., the taste buds,
olfactory epithelium, and the aortic and carotid bodies)
(2) Thermoreceptors, which respond to heat and cold
(3) Mechanoreceptors, which are stimulated by
mechanical deformation of the receptor cell membrane
(e.g., touch and pressure receptors in the skin and hair
cells within the inner ear).
(4) Photoreceptors —the rods and cones in the retina of
the eye
Table 10.1
 Classification of sensory receptors
Receptors are grouped according to the type of sensory
information they deliver to the brain.
A) Proprioceptors
‫ مستقبل حسي يتلقى معلومات عن وضع وحركة الجسم‬,‫مستقبلة الحس العميق‬
include the muscle spindles, Golgi tendon organs, and joint
receptors. These provide a sense of body position and allow
fine control of skeletal movements
B) Cutaneous (skin) receptors include (1) touch and
pressure receptors, (2) heat and cold receptors, and (3) pain
receptors.

The receptors that mediate sight, hearing, equilibrium, taste,

and smell are grouped together as the special senses.
 Nociceptors
• Nociceptors are pain receptors that depolarize in response to
stimuli that accompany tissue damage; these stimuli include high
heat or pressure and a variety of chemicals, such as adenosine,
ATP, histamine, serotonin, and prostaglandin E2.
• Depolarization can stimulate the production of action potentials in
sensory neurons, which enter the spinal cord in the dorsal roots of
spinal nerves and then relay information (via the neurotransmitters
glutamate and substance P) to the brain.
• The actual perception of the pain is enhanced or reduced by a
person’s emotions, concepts, and expectations.

• Analgesia (pain reduction) depends to a large degree on the

endogenous opioid neurotransmitters (including β-endorphin),
but a non-opioid mechanism also functions to reduce the
perception of pain.
Referred pain: The pain that is felt in a somatic
location (such as left arm as a result of Angina pectoris)
may not be the result of nociceptor stimulation, but
rather the result of damage of internal organ .
 Sensory Adaptation
Receptors vary in the duration of their firing in
response to a constant stimulus.
a. Tonic receptors continue to fire as long as the
stimulus is maintained; they monitor the presence
and intensity of a stimulus.
b. Phasic receptors respond to stimulus
changes; they do not respond to a sustained
stimulus, and this partly accounts for sensory
adaptation.
Figure 10.1
 Generator potentials
Generator potentials are graded changes (usually
depolarizations) in the membrane potential of the
dendritic endings of sensory neurons.
1. The magnitude of the potential change of the
generator potential is directly proportional to the
strength of the stimulus applied to the receptor.
2. After the generator potential reaches a
threshold value, increases in the magnitude of the
depolarization result in increased frequency of
action potential production in the sensory neuron.
Figure 10.2

The receptor (generator) potential. Sensory stimuli result in

the production of local graded potential changes known as
receptor, or generator, potentials (numbers 1–4). If the receptor
potential reaches a threshold value of depolarization, it
generates action potentials (number 5) in the sensory neuron.
 Taste

The sense of taste is mediated by taste buds.

1. There are four well-established modalities of taste
(salty, sour, sweet, and bitter); a fifth, called umami,
which is stimulated by glutamate, is now also
recognized.
2. Salty and sour taste are produced by the movement of
sodium and hydrogen ions, respectively, through
membrane channels; sweet and bitter tastes are
produced by binding of molecules to protein receptors
that are coupled to G-proteins.
Figure 10.8

The five major categories of taste. Each category of taste activates

specific taste cells by different means. Notice that taste cells for salty
and sour are depolarized by ions (Na+ and H+, respectively) in the food,
whereas taste cells for sweet, umami, and bitter are depolarized by
sugars, the amino acids glutamate and aspartate (not shown), and
quinine, respectively, by means of G-protein-coupled receptors and the
actions of second messengers.
 Smell
The olfactory receptors are neurons that synapse within
the olfactory bulb of the brain.
1. Odorant molecules bind to membrane protein
receptors.
2. Binding of an odorant molecule to its receptor causes the
dissociation of large numbers of G-protein subunits.
The effect is thereby amplified, which may contribute
to the extreme sensitivity of the sense of smell.
Figure 10.9

The neural pathway for olfaction. The olfactory epithelium contains

receptor neurons that synapse with neurons in the olfactory bulb of the
cerebral cortex. The synapses occur in rounded structures called glomeruli.
Secondary neurons, known as tufted cells and mitral cells, transmit impulses
from the olfactory bulb to the olfactory cortex in the medial temporal
lobes. Notice that each glomerulus receives input from only one type of
olfactory receptor, regardless of where those receptors are located in the
olfactory epithelium.
 Human ear
• Human ear contains receptors for sound waves & for equilibrium.
• Anatomically, the ear is divided into: the external (outer ear), the
middle ear & the internal (inner ear).
• The external ears: auricles (pinnae) and the external
auditory canal (meatus):
• Supported by elastic cartilage.
• Poor blood flow if cold.
• Function is to focus and magnify sound into the external auditory
meatus and ear drum (tympanic membrane) i.e sound waves are
funneled by the pinna.
• Ear wax (medical name - cerumen) is secreted by specialized
sebaceous glands. Ear wax and hair prevent foreign objects from
entering the ear.
 Outer ear Middle ear Inner ear

Skull Stapes Semicircular

bone Cochlear Bone
Incus canals
duct Auditory
Malleus Auditory nerve nerve
to brain Vestibular
canal

Tympanic
canal
Cochlea Organ
Oval Eustachian of Corti
Auditory window
Pinna canal tube
Tympanic Round
membrane window Tectorial membrane
1 m

Hair cells Axons of

To auditory
Basilar sensory
Bundled hairs projecting from a hair cell nerve
membrane neurons
 The middle ear
• The sound is conducted through the external auditory meatus to the
tympanic membrane to the middle ear.

• The middle ear is an air filled cavity that functions to convert

sound into motions in the ossicles (Malleus to Incus to Stapes) and
finally into vibrations of the oval window of the cochlea.

• Function of the middle ear is amplification of sound waves in

preparation for transmission from air-filled cavity to fluid filled
cavity.

• Because the tympanic membrane is 22 times larger and heavier

than the oval window, considerable amplification occurs. So, we
can hear very faint sounds. But the degree of amplification can be a
problem when we are exposed to very loud noises.
 The middle ear
• Eustachian Tube: connects the middle ear with the
nasopharynx of the throat. It helps maintain normal pressure in
middle ear. Abnormal pressure may occur during flying, diving
or ear infection. Pressure bulid up might be painful and can
cause rupture of the tympanic membrane.

• During swallowing and yawning the tube opens to allow

atmospheric air to enter or leave the middle air until the
internal pressure equals the external pressure.

• Invasion by microorganisms can lead to an unpleasant middle

ear infection known as otitis media.
 Inner Ear: The Cochlea
It is a triple tube structure coiled (three turns) in a snail like
pattern. From up downward, they are scala vestibuli, scala
media (cochlear duct), and scala tympani, separated by
vesitubular membrane and basilar membrane. The nerve
that contains afferent for both hearing and equilibrium is
the eighth cranial nerve and is called vestibulocochlear
nerve.
 Spiral Organ
(Organ of Corti)
• It is the sensitive
part for sound.
• It contains the
specialized hair
cells.
• The pressure on
both sides leads to
bending of the
stereocilia of the
hair cells.
 Physiology of Hearing
• Sound causes movement of the tympanic membrane and
middle ear ossicles that are transmitted into the fluid-filled
chochlea.
• The waves then transmitted to the perilymph of the scala
vestibuli and then either to the perilymph of the scala tympani
(through helicotrema) or directly to the scala media.
• This produces vibrations of the basilar membrane which is
coated with hair cells. A shearing force between the tectorial
and basilar membranes is created.
• This bending of hair cells depolarizes the membranes of
mechanoreceptors and sends action potentials to the brain via
the auditory nerve
• The fluid waves dissipate when they strike the round window
at the end of the tympanic canal
perilymph

helicotrema
endolymph

perilymph
 Vestibular Apparatus
& Equilibrium
• Vestibular apparatus: The parts of the inner ear,
including the semicircular canals, utricle, and
saccule, that function to provide a sense of
equilibrium.
• detect body movement, position, and balance.
• Specialized areas in utricle and saccule called macula
which contain hair cells (specialized cells sensitive to
movement) embedded in otolith membrane
(gelatineous membrane containg calcium carbonate
crystal) that allow us to perceive position relative to
gravity or linear movement.
 Semicircular canals
• They project in three different planes.
• Three semicircular canals contain fluid and can detect
angular movement in any direction.
• At the base of each canal is an enlargement called
Ampulla
• The processes of hair cells are embedded in gelatinous
membrane called cupula.
Anatomy of the Human Eye
The human eye
Human eye has three layers:
1. The outer layer of the eye is the sclera which extend
anteriorly as the transparent cornea.
The sclera is white fibrous layer (tough connective tissue)
that covers most of the eye; it protects and supports the
eyeball.
The cornea is a transparent part of the sclera at the front of
the eye; it is the window of the eye that allows the light to
pass through.
The conjunctiva is a thin layer of epithelial cells that covers
the sclera and keeps the eyes moist.
2. The middle layer consists of choroid, ciliary body, & iris.

The choroid -the vascular layer of the eye- is thin, dark-brown

containing many blood vessels that nourish the inner layer
and pigments that absorbs stray light rays preventing them
from being distracted.

To the front of the eye, the choroid thickens and forms a ring-
shaped ciliary body and finally becomes the iris.

The ciliary body contains the ciliary muscle which attaches

the lens by strands of connective tissue.
 Aqueous Humor
The anterior cavity is divided by the iris into anterior and
posterior chambers and contain the aqueous humor.

Aqueous humor is secreted by ciliary body into the

posterior chamber (the space between iris and ciliary body
and the lens) and passes through the pupil into the anterior
chamber (a space between iris and cornea), where it
provides nourishment to the avascular lens and cornea.

Aqueous humor is drained through the anterior chamber

into the scleral venous sinus (canal of Schlemm) which
return it to venous blood.
Inadequate drainage of aqueous humor leads to
accumulation of fluid which increases intraocular
pressure. A condition called glaucoma which may
damage retina and induce loss of vision
 Vitreous Humor
• The portion of the eye behind the lens is filled with thick viscous substance
called vitreous humor.
• Formed during embryonic life & does not undergo constant replacement.
• Maintains constant pressure of the eye, gives it its shape & prevent the
dissociation of retina from the other layers.
 The iris

The iris which consists of two

layers of pigmented smooth muscles is located in
front of the lens.

The color of these pigments determines

the color of the eye.

Iris regulates the size of an opening called the

pupil (it is not a structure) thereby regulating the
amount of light reaching the back of the eye.
 The Iris
The iris is a smooth muscle structure located between the lens and the
cornea and divided the anterior cavity into anterior and posterior
chambers. It is lined posteriorly by colored epithelium. The iris is like the
diaphragm of a camera, it can increase or decrease the diameter of its
aperture. It is consisted of circular muscle “sphincter muscles”
(parasympathetic innervation) and radial muscle (sympathetic
innervation). In the middle of the iris is the pupil. The function of iris is to
determine the amount of light that enters inside the eye. Constriction of
the pupil (miosis) is by parasympathetic stimulation. Dilatation of the pupil
(mydriasis) is by sympathetic stimulation
 The Retina
3. The inner layer is the retina which
contains rod cells and cone cells

• The lens is suspended by the suspensory

ligaments (Zonular fibers) which are
connected to the ciliary body (smooth
muscle structure with parasympathetic
innervation. The lens is responsible for
accomodation of vision.
 The pigmented layer
• It prevents light reflection throughout the globe of
the eyeball
• Phagocytosis of shed segments of the
photoreceptors
• Nutrition of photoreceptors
• Suppression of the immune attack of the retina
• Participation in visual cycle
• Stabilization of the ion environment surrounding the
photoreceptors
• The pigment layer also stores large quantities of
vitamin A.
Structure of the Retina
Retina has three layers of neurons

1-Layer closest to
choroid contains
rod and cone cells

2-Middle layer
contains bipolar
cells

3-Innermost layer
contains ganglion
cells whose fibers
become the optic
nerve
 Description of Retina’s layers
Since only rod and cone cells are sensitive to light, light must
penetrate through the ganglion cells.

The axons of the rods and cones synapse with the dendrites
of the bipolar cells.

The bipolar cell axons synapse with the dendrites of the

ganglion thus they pass the impulse to ganglion cells.

The axons of the ganglion cells form the nerve fiber layer.
Their processes, from all areas of the retina, pass toward
the optic disk (blind spot) to form the optic nerve.
The optic disk : the area
of retina where optic
nerve and blood vessels
pass through the retina.
There is no
photoreceptors in this
area so it is a blind spot
 Layers of the Eye
Fibrous tunic
Sclera Supports & protects the eyeball
cornea Transmits & refracts light
Vascular tunic
Choroid Supplies blood to eyeball
Ciliary body Secretes aqueous humor
Changes the thickness of the lens
Iris Regulates the diameter of the pupil
Nervous or Internal tunic
retina Photoreception, transmits impulses
Lens (not part of Refracts light & focuses image into fovea centralis
any tunic)
 Photoreceptors Rod
of the Eye
Synaptic Cell Outer Disks
terminal body segment

Cone

Visible light includes those waves having wave length

between 350-750nm.
There are two types of photoreceptors (cells that detects light) in the
retina called rod cells (100 million rods) and cone cells (6.5 million
cones).
• The inner segment contains cell nucleus and organelles and ends with
synaptic terminal where chemical messengers are stored in synaptic
vesicles).
• The outer segment contains stacks of membranous disks (sacs,
lamellae) with many molecules that absorb light waves giving
photoreceptors the ability to respond to light. These molecules are
called photopigments.
 Photoreceptors of the Eye

• There are 4 different types of photoreceptors

each contains a different photopigment.
• Each photopigment absorbs light of a
particular range of wave length and thus more
sensitive to certain color.
• Each photopigment contains light absorbing
portion called retinal and a protein called opsin
• The retinal is the same but the opsin is
different. In cones the protein is called
photopsin.
 Effect of light on the rods
When a rod absorbs light, rhodopsin (purple pigment) splits
into opsin and retinal derived from Vitamin A. This is
called bleaching reaction.

Retinal (retinene) exists in two forms

11-cis form
all-trans form

When a rod absorbs light the 11-cis is converted to the all-

trans form which cannot bond to opsin as a result
rhodopsin dissociates into opsin and retinal.
Note: same process occurs in cones but different
photopigment
Retinal: cis isomer

Light Enzymes

Retinal: trans isomer

 Dark Responses Light Responses

Rhodopsin inactive Rhodopsin active

Na channels open Na channels closed

Rod depolarized Rod hyperpolarized

Glutamate released No glutamate

released

Bipolar cell
 visual cycle
The signal transduction pathway usually shuts off
again as enzymes convert retinal back to the cis
form.
• The all-trans retinal is transported to the pigment
cell and reconverted to 11-cis retinal.
• The 11-cis form then transported to the rod
again.
• This interaction between the photoreceptors and
the pigment cells is called visual cycle of retinal.
 Dark Adaptation
Bleaching reaction results in lower amounts of rhodopsin in rods,
so when a person enters a dark room his photoreceptors
sensitivity is low and his vision is poor. With time (maximum
20 min) photoreceptors sensitivity increase due to formation of
rhodopsin which is called dark adaptation.

Following intense exposure to light, a photoreceptor can not

respond to further stimulation until its rhodopsin molecules
have been regenerated.

Rods provide night vision. Rods are more sensitive to light than
cones: at night rods are still active and are stimulated by low
light.

Because rods are distributed throughout the retina, rods detect

our peripheral vision and motion but not color or detail.
 Cones and Color Vision
- Cones are located primarily in the fovea centralis.

- Cones are not very sensitive in low intensity light.

They are activated by bright light (higher levels of
illumination) and detect fine details and colors.

- Their response is called photopic vision.

- The trichromatic color vision: our perception of

colors is produced by stimulation of only three
kinds of cones that contain either blue, green, or
red pigment.
Each pigment is composed of
retinal and photopsin, but the
structure of photopsin varies
among the three. The names for
the cones signify the region of the
spectrum in which the cones
absorb light maximally.

The absorption characteristics of

the pigments in the three types of
cones show peak absorbencies at
wavelengths of 420 (S cones), 530
(M cones), and 562 (L cones) nm, Gene for S cones is located on
respectively. .chromosome number 7

Combinations of cones are Genes for M and L cones are

stimulated by intermediate colors; located on X chromosome. Lack of
the combined nerve impulses are Mor L cones causes color
interpreted in the brain. blindness: inheritance is sex linked
.affects males more than females
 Focusing the image on retina
When light pass from a transparent medium of one density
into a medium of another density it is refracted or bent.
(straw in clear glass half filled with water).

For the light rays to reach the retina they need to pass
through the air then cornea and continues as rays pass
through the aqueous humor, lens and vitrous humor.

Because of different densities of air and the cornea, light

rays are bent, or refracted, by the cornea and lens then
they are focused on the retina.

Because of refraction, the image on the retina is inverted

180º from actual becoming upside down and right to
left. So, the visual field is reversed in each eye.
Refraction of light
• Refraction of light depends on density of the substances through
which the light is transferred and the curvature of the lens.

• The refractive index of the air is 1.00. The refractive indices are
1.38, 1.33, 1.34 for cornea, aqueous humor and lens sequentially.
Refraction is constant for all these parts except the lens.

• The curvature of the lens varies.

• The refractive properties of the lens can provide fine control for
focusing light on the retina.

• Ciliary muscle and their suspensory ligaments (zonular fibers) acts

to change focusing.

• An aging lens loses its ability to accommodate for near objects and
we may need reading glasses that magnify things.
 Accommodation
Accommodation is the ability to maintain a focus on the
retina when the distance between the object and the eyes
is changed.

Accommodation is produced by changes in the shape and

refractive power of the lens.

Shape of lens is controlled by ciliary muscles:

1-Distant Object - ciliary muscles relaxed---the suspensory
ligament is tight and the lens is pulled to its least convex
form (flat).

2-Near Object - ciliary muscles contracted----the suspensory

ligament becomes less tight, and the lens (taking its
natural shape) becomes more convex and more powerful.
 Near Object - ciliary
muscles contracted
----the suspensory
ligament becomes less
tight, and the lens
becomes more convex
and more powerful.

Distant Object - ciliary

muscles relaxed---the
suspensory
ligament is tight and the
lens is pulled to its
.least convex form (flat)