Sensory reception

Lecture Notes

I. Sensory Receptors (beginning of stimulus reponse cycle/feedback loop/reflex arc)

A. Sensory transduction 1. Receptors respond to stimuli (light, sound, pressure, chemical)

2. Response is generation of electrical event (i.e., local receptor or generator potentials that eventually trigger AP along sensory neuron to CNS)

3. Adaptation--most sensations decrease with time, stimuli having progressively less affect on receptor

B. Receptor classification 1. Location
 proprioreceptors in muscles and joints

2. Stimulus detected

a. Mechanoreceptors (e.g., touch, pressure, blood pressure, position/proprioreception, hearing, equilibrium)

b. Thermoreceptors (e.g., temperature)

c. Photoreceptors (e.g., light)

d. Chemoreceptors (e.g., taste, smell, blood ph, blood gas levels)

e. Pain receptors or nociceptors (e.g., pain or damage) Dermatomes
 
 

3. Anatomy type a. General sensory receptors are modified dendrites of sensory neurons
Free dendritic endings (=pain or damage)
 Meissner's corpuscles (= touch)
 pacinian corpuscles (= pressure)
 spindle fibers (= muscle stretch)
 tendon organ (= tendon stretch)
baroreceptors (=blood pressure)
chemoreceptors (=blood gas levels, blood pH)
thermoreceptors (=body temperature)
b. Special senses require a separate receptor cell (usually a neuron, sometimes not)
embedded in more complex organ

Describe the named general receptors and their functions. Compare the anatomical structure of general receptors with special receptors.
II. Smell, chemoreception A. Structure 1. Olfactory (bipolar) cells
 olfactor cell end has olfactory hairs which react to chemicals and convert stimuli to graded potentials in olfactory cell

2. Columnar epithelium which secretes mucus needed to dissolve and remove chemical stimulus

B. Physiology 1. Chemical must be dissolved to pass through mucus & membranes of olfactory hairs.

2. Each chemical smelled must react with cellular chemical receptor for detection

3. Only major sense that does not pass thalamus

III. Taste, chemoreception A. Structure 1. Papillae on tongue surfaces have many taste buds embedded in stratified squamous epithelium

2. Taste buds

a. Gustatory cell
 cell converts chemical stimuli to graded potential
b. Supporting cell

B. Physiology 1. Chemicals must be dissolved in saliva to stimulate gustatory cells (which are not neurons so they can be replaced)

2. Nerves that supply tongue/throat
glossopharyngeal (IX) posterior 1/3
facial (VII) anterior 2/3 for  sensory,  relayed through thalamus

hypoglossal XII
vagus X for motor

3. Nerve that supplies jaw muscles = trigeminal
 Compare and contrast the senses of taste and smell.
IV. Vision, photoreception A. Accessory structures 1. Eyebrow, eyelids fror protection

2. Lacrimal gland for lubrication/bacteriocide

3. Conjunctiva--mucus membrane over cornea

B. Eye structures 1. Optic nerve receives impulses from retina

2. Layers

a. Fibrous tunic (outermost connective tissue layer) 1) Sclera = tough so provides protection

2) Cornea--transparent so light passes through
 avascular so easily transplanted and not rejected

b. Vascular tunic (secretory layer) 1) Choroid darkly pigmented layer a) Highly vascularized to supply retinal neurons
 pierced by optic never (II) at optic disk (blind spot)

b) absorbs excessive light

2) Ciliary body--
a) ciliary muscles change shape of lens allowing it to focus
b) ciliary process-gland that secretes aqueous humor

3) Iris--colored portion seen through cornea--controls amount of light passing to retina

4) Pupil--hole in anterior portion of vascular tunic
 
 

c. Retina (receptor layer)
 functions to form image
 photoreceptor has 3 types of neurons and form optic nerve 1) Ganglion neurons (optic nerve) are stimulated by bipolar neurons

2) Bipolar neurons are stimulated by photoreceptors

3) Photoreceptors transduce light to graded potentials (form image)

(a) Rod photoreceptors
 black & white low light vision
 abundant on edges of retina \ best night vision

(b) Cone photoreceptors
 color, highlight vision
 high acuity = sharpness of vision
 macula lutea--abundant cones in center of retina
Diagram the pathway for light, the site of photoreception, and then the pathway for action potentials to get to the visual cortex in occipital lobe.

C. Physiology 1. Image formation a. Accommodation (changing focal length) of lens
 done by changing shape of lens with ciliary muscles

b. Convergence--eyes rotated medially to focus on single object from far to near

c. Depth perception (binocular vision gives you depth perception)

2. Photopigments
chemicals are changed when subjected to light
changes in chemical shape change membrane potential by
altering membrane permeability a. Rods (black & white dim light)
 rhodopsin (visual purple) = scotopsin + retinal (vitamin A)
 dark adaptation if [rhodopsin] is large, vision is light sensitive (dark adaptated)
 light adaptation if [rhodopsin] is small (i.e., after bright light) vision is insensitive, e.g., can't see in dark room after bright light
inadequate (Vitamin A) = night blindness

b. Cones
 photopsin (similar to rhodopsin)
 3 types (blue, green, red) to make all colors

V. equilibrium ( mechanoreception )
A. Static equilibrium
 two membranous sacs (saccule & utricle) in vestibule
 each sac has organ of static equilibrium (macula of vestibule)
hair cell receptors are stimulated by up/down movement of otoliths B. Dynamic equilibrium
 three semicircular membranous ducts that end in swellings (ampulla) of semicircular canals
 each ampulla has organ of dynamic equilibrium (crista ampullaris of semicircular canals)
hair cell receptors are stimulated by movement of fluid in canals

Cerebellum is area of CNS that processes equilibrium

VI Hearing mechanoreception
A. General structure 1. Outer ear a. Pinna

b. external auditory canal

c. Tympanic membrane (ear drum)

2. Middle ear--air-filled cavity in temporal bone a. Ossicles convert sound to mechanical vibrations
 malleus
 incus
 stapes

b. Eustachian tubes--allows for equalizing pressure between atmosphere & middle ear
 
 

3. Inner ear a. Membranous structures inside temporal bone 1. Vestibule (equilibrium)

2. Semicircular canals (equilibrium)

3. Cochlea (contains organ of hearing)

b. Vestibulocochlear nerve passes sensory input through thalamus
B. Hearing, mechanoreception 1. Anatomy a. Cochlea--membranous duct that is doubled (scala vestibuli and scala tympani) and then coiled into snail-like shape
filled with perilymph fluid

b. Cross section of cochlea
 scala media ( or cochlear duct) divided from main part of scala vestibuli by vestibular membrane
filled with endolymph fluid and houses hearing organ = organ of Corti
 

c. Organ of Corti
tectorial membrane stimulates the hearing hair cells


2. Physiology of hearing

a. Sound waves (air compression) collected by pinna and directed through ear canal
b. Tympanic membrane moves to compressions & decompressions converting sound waves to vibrations

c. Ossicle bones (malleus, incus, stapes) vibrate relative to membrane thereby transmitting vibrations to outer membrane of scala vestibul

d. outer membrane of scala vestibuli vibrates relative to ossicle bones thereby transmitting vibrations to Perilymph Fluid in scala vestibuli

e. Perilymph Fluid in scala vestibuli vibrates relative to outer membrane of scala vestibuli thereby transmitting vibrations to vestibular membrane

f. vestibular membrane vibrates relative to perilymph thereby transmitting vibrations to endolymph fluid in scala media

g. Endolympyh fluid in scala media vibrates relative to vestibular membrane thereby transmitting vibrations to tectorial membrane

h. Fluid vibrations cause tectorial membrane to mechanically stimulte hearing hair cells

i. Hair cells are stimulated to make electrical signals that brain understands as sound




. Different areas of organ/Corti sense different frequencies

 
Diagram the pathway forsound, the site of mechanoreception (hearing) , and then the pathway for action potentials to get to the temporal lobe.
C. Physiology of equilibrium 1. Static equilibruim
 two membranous sacs (saccule & utricle) in vestibule
 each sac has organ of static equilibrium (macula of vestibule)  2. Dynamic equilibrium
 3 semicircular membranous ducts that end in swellings (ampulla) of semicircular canals
 each ampulla has organ of dynamic equilibrium
(crista ampullaris of semicircular canals)
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Professor Thomas M. Lancraft
Human Anatomy and Physiology Courses
at St. Petersburg College
St. Petersburg/Gibbs Campus
12/04/2007