Sensory Physiology

Sensors:
Detect Changes in environmental conditions
Use Receptor Cells
 Transduction
 Conversion of environmental change into
an electrical signal
 Receptor responds to stimulus by
releasing neurotransmitter to a neuron
 Neuron sends message to brain to be
interpreted
 Types of Environmental Stimuli

 Chemoreception
 Mechanoreception
 Photoreception
 Chemoreception

 Detection of chemical types and

concentrations

2 Types:
1. Taste Receptors
– detects chemicals dissolved in water within
the mouth
2. Smell- Olfactory Receptors
– Sense chemicals in the air
 Taste Buds
(Taste Receptors)
MAMMALS, REPTILES, BIRDS:
 Allows animal to detect and identify dissolved chemicals
 Found mainly on the upper surface of the tongue
 Pits found on tongue consist of sensory cells
 Every sensory/receptor cell has a tiny hair called a
microvilli, that project into the saliva
 Chemicals come into contact with these hair receptors
 These receptors send messages along nerves to the
brain
 Flavors are then interpreted
 Taste buds
microvilli
Sensory Cells

Taste Bud
Taste Buds
 Chemoreceptors- Taste/Smell
INVERTEBRATES:

• Use receptors found

 Use receptors found on
Antennae on Legs/Feet
 Olfactory Receptors
What do animals use their sense of smell for?

 Locate Food
 Mark Territory
 Identify their own offspring
 Presence and condition of a potential mate
 Olfactory Receptors
(Distance Receptors)
 The organ of smell is the olfactory organ
 Located in the nose
 Responds/Detects chemicals in the air
 Consists of nerve cells that have tiny hairs on the
surface

Animal Sense cells respond Impulse fired

Breathes to molecules and sent to the
brain for
interpretation
 Olfactory Organ

Olfactory Organ Nerve Fibers

 Snakes/Lizards Tongues
 Tongue collects
chemicals then
retracts
 swab chemicals over
vomeronasal organ
(Jacobson’s organ)
 Chemical/pheromone
perception
 Insect Antennae

•Pheromone Reception
 Mechanoreceptors
 Detection of Mechanical Energy and Force
– Tactile (touch and pressure)
– Equilibrium (gravity and acceleration)
– Vibrations (sound)
 Tactile (Touch)
Touch is an important sense because it
provides important information about:

 Proximity of food
 Predators
 Environmental features
 Tactile Receptors
 Insect Receptors
 Bristle/hair receptors
 Vertebrate Receptors
 Nerve endings in skin are sensitive to touch
and pressure
 The roots of hairs may also be well supplied
with sensory receptors that inform the
animal that it is in contact with an object
 Whiskers are modified hairs
Whiskers – Tactile Receptors
 Tactile (Touch)
 Tactile receptors are not evenly distributed
over the animal's surface.
 They are in higher concentration, and
therefore closer together, on critical
surfaces.
 Tactile Receptors
PAIN:
 Receptors that sense pain are found in
almost every tissue of the body.
 Receptors allow animals to respond to
tissues that are dangerously hot, cold,
compressed or stretched, or that there is
not enough blood flowing into them.
 General senses in the skin
Pain Receptor

Cold
Temperature Touch Receptor
Receptor

Touch Receptor

Pressure Receptor
 Equilibrium: Hair Cells
 located deep inside the ear
 They tell you if your head is tilted or if you are standing on your head.
(orientation relative to gravity)
 vibrations bend “hairs” (stereocilia)
 alters release of neurotransmitter to sensory neurons sent to the brain
Hair Cells Located in the Inner Ear
 Equilibrium:
Vertebrate Vestibular Organs
 Fluid-filled compartments in
the inner ear
 Semi-circular canals
- Head moves, liquid in
canals slosh around and
moves the tiny hairs that line
each canal
- Hairs translate message
into nerve impulses that are
sent to the brain
- Brain tells body how to
stay balanced
 Equilibrium:
Invertebrate Statocysts
 Central statolith
stimulates different
hair cells based on
orientation to gravity
 Vibration

 Vertebrate Cochlea
– Elongate structure
containing hair cells
– Fluid pressure waves
induce vibration of the
basilar membrane
– Stimulates hair cells
which triggers electrical
impulses to the brain.
Passage of Sound through the Ear
 Vibrations:
A Frog is a
Insect “Ears” Vertebrate

 Tympanic Organs
 Terminal Cerci
 Johnston’s organ
– Wind receptor
– May be tuned to Tympanic Organ
specific frequencies
 Vibrations:
Lateral Lines
 Fish and aquatic amphibians
 Hair cells distributed along lateral line
• Detect vibrations in water and flow of water
 Photoreceptors
VISION:
 Perception of electromagnetic radiation
 Animals are only able to use the visible
portion of the electromagnetic spectrum
 Reception of visual signals
 Light enters the eye
 specialized cells, photoreceptors, may be
stimulated by particles of light
 Photoreceptors in the retina are triggered
1. rods - light intensity
2. cones - color
 Color perception: brain compares outputs of
different photoreceptor types.
 Parts of the Eye
1. Cornea: A tough, clear covering over the iris and pupil that helps
protect the eye.
2. Sclera: The thick, tough, white outer covering of the eyeball.
3. Iris: A muscle that controls how much light enters the eye.
• Colored portion of the eye
4. Aqueous Humor: Fluid that helps the cornea keep its rounded
shape.
5. Pupil: A hole in the center of your iris that allows light in.
6. Lens: Focuses light on the retina
7. Vitreous Humor: Thick, clear jelly that helps give the eyeball its
shape.
8. Retina: A layer of photoreceptor cells
• Connected to the brain by the optic nerve
9. Rods: light intensity
10. Cones: Color
 The Eye
Vitreous Humor
Sclera

Iris
Optic Nerve

Cornea

Pupil

Tapetum Lens

Retina Iris
 Advanced Eyes:
Tapetum
Tapetum:
 Layer of tissue immediately behind the retina
 It reflects visible light back through the retina
 Increases the light available to the photoreceptors
 Provides superior night vision
 Found in many vertebrate animals, not humans
Time for Eye Dissection!!!!