SENSES

Sense
ability to perceive stimuli

Sensation
conscious awareness of stimuli received by sensory neurons

Perception
Conscious awareness of those stimuli

Sensory receptors
sensory nerve endings that respond to stimuli by developing
action potentials
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Types of Senses
General senses
receptors over large part of body
somatic provide information about the body and the
environment
touch, pressure, pain, temperature, and itch

visceral provide info. about internal organs

Pain and pressure

Special senses
Specialized in structure
Localized to specific parts of the body

-smell, taste, sight, hearing, and balance

Types of Receptors
Mechanoreceptors

detect movement (mechanical stimuli)

- Ex. touch, pressure, vibration

Chemoreceptors

detect chemicals

- Ex. Odors
Photoreceptors

detect light

Thermoreceptors

detect temp. changes

Nociceptors

detect pain

Free nerve endings

Most common receptor
Distributed all throughout your body
Can respond to stimuli
Cold Receptors
respond to decreasing temperature but stops at 12oC

Warm Receptors
Respond to increasing temperature but stops at 47oC

Types of Touch Receptors

Merkels disk
detect light touch and pressure

Hair follicle receptor

Associated with hair
detect light touch (not precise)

Meissner corpuscle
deep in epidermis
localizing tactile (touch) sensations

 Ruffini corpuscle
deep tactile receptors
detects continuous pressure in skin

Pacinian corpuscle
deepest receptors
associated with tendons and joints
detect deep pressure, vibration, position

Figure 9.1

Pain
unpleasant perceptual and emotional experience

2 TYPES
Localized
sharp, pricking, cutting pain
rapid action potential
Diffuse
burning, aching pain
slower action potentials
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Pain Control
Local anesthesia
action potentials suppressed from pain receptors in local
areas
chemicals are injected near sensory nerve

General anesthesia
loss of consciousness
chemicals affect reticular formation

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Referred Pain
originates in a region that is not source of pain stimulus
felt when internal organs are damaged or inflamed
sensory neurons from superficial area and neurons of
source pain converge onto same ascending neurons of
spinal cord
Clinically useful in diagnosing the actual cause of the
painful stimulus.

Olfaction
sense of smell
occurs in response to
odorants
receptors are located in
nasal cavity and hard
palate
we can detected 10,000
different smells
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How does olfaction work?

1.

Nasal cavity contains a thin film of mucous where

odors become dissolved.

2. Olfactory neurons are located in mucous. Dendrites

of olfactory neurons are enlarged and contain cilia.
3. Dendrites pick up odor, depolarize, and carry odor to
axons in olfactory bulb (cranial nerve I).
4. Olfactory cortex found in the frontal and temporal
lobes process odor.
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Figure 9.3b

Odorants will enter

the nasal cavity

Specialized cilia in the

olfactory epithelium
will trap and dissolve
the odorants

Olfactory nerve
(Cranial nerve 1)

Olfactory cortex of the

cerebrum

Synapse with the

olfactory bulb

AP will pass through

the foramen in the
cribriform plate

Taste
Taste buds
sensory structures that detect taste
located on papillae on tongue, hard palate, throat

Inside each taste bud are 40 taste cells

Each taste cell has taste hairs that extend into taste
pores
Influenced by olfactory sensations
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How does taste work?

1.

Taste buds pick up taste and send it to taste cells.

2. Taste cells send taste to taste hairs.

3. Taste hairs contain receptors that initiate an action
potential which is carried to parietal lobe.
4. Brain processes taste.

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Flavor will be
detected by the
taste buds

Taste are of the

Cerebrum cortex

Dissolved
molecules will bind
to the receptors on
the taste hairs

Cranial Nerves VII,

IX, and X, joined in
the chorda
tympani

Thalamus

Synapse with the

gustatory portion
of the brain stem

Types of Tastes

Sweet
Sour
Salty
Bitter
Umami

Certain taste buds are more sensitive to certain tastes

Taste is also linked to smell.

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Vision
Accessory Structures
Eyebrow
protects from sweat
shade from sun

Eyelid/Eyelashes
protects from foreign objects
lubricates by blinking
20 times per minute

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 Conjunctiva
thin membrane that covers
inner surface of eyelid
Lubricate also the eyes

Lacrimal apparatus
Contains lacrimal gland
which produce tears
Lacrimal canaliculi small
ducts that collect excess
tears.
Lacrimal sac- enlargement
of the nasolacrimal duct
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Extrinsic eye muscle

help move eyeball
4- straight from their origin (superior, inferior, medial
and lateral) Rectus Muscles
2- angle to the long axis (superior and inferior)
Oblique muscles

Anatomy of Eye
Hollow, fluid filled sphere
Composed of 3 layers (tunics)
Divided into chambers

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Fibrous Tunic
Outermost layer
Sclera
firm, white outer part
helps maintain eye shape, provides attachment sites,
protects internal structures
White of the eye

Cornea
transparent structure that covers iris and pupil
allows light to enter and focuses light

Vascular Tunic
Middle layer
Contains blood supply
Choroid

black part (melanin)

delivers O2 and nutrients to retina

Ciliary body

helps hold lens in place

Suspensory ligaments
help hold lens in place

Lens

flexible disk
focuses light onto retina

33

Figure 9.10

 Iris
colored part
surrounds and regulates pupil

Pupil
regulates amount of light entering
lots of light = constricted
little light = dilated

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Nervous Tunic
Innermost tunic
Retina
covers posterior 5/6 of eye
contains 2 layers

Pigmented retina
outer layer
keeps light from reflecting back in eye

Sensory retina
contains photoreceptors (rods and cones)
contains interneurons

 Rods
photoreceptor
sensitive to light
20 times more
rods than cones
can function in
dim light

 Cones
photoreceptor provide
color vision
Require more light
3 types blue, green, red

 Rhodopsin
photosensitive pigment in rod cells

Consists of:
Opsin
colorless protein in rhodopsin

Retinal
yellow pigment in rhodopsin
requires vitamin A

40

Effects of Light on Rhodopsin

1.

Light strikes rod cell

2.

Components of the rhodopsin changes shape (opsin

and retinal)

3.

Retinal dissociates from opsin

4.

Change rhodopsin shape stimulates response in rod

cell which results in vision

5.

Retinal detaches from opsin

6.

ATP required to reattach retinal to opsin and return

rhodopsin to original shape

Figure 9.13

Retina Structures
Rods and cones synapse with bipolar cells of sensory
retina
Horizontal cells of retina modify output of rods and
cones
Bipolar and horizontal cells synapse with ganglion
cells
Ganglion cells axons converge to form optic nerve

Nervous Tunic (Retina)

Innermost layer
2 parts of retina: sensory and pigmented
Keeps light from reflecting back into eye
Rods:
photoreceptors that detect amount light
Cones:
- photoreceptors that detect colors
- 3 types: red, blue, green
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 Macula
small spot near center of retina

Fovea centralis

center of macula
where light is focused when looking directly at an object
only cones
ability to discriminate fine images

 Optic disc
white spot medial to macula
blood vessels enter eye and spread over retina
axons exit as optic nerve
no photoreceptors
called blind spot

Chambers of Eye
Anterior chamber
located between cornea and lens
filled with aqueous humor (watery)
aqueous humor helps maintain pressure, refracts light, and
provide nutrients to inner surface of eye

Posterior chamber
located behind anterior chamber
contains aqueous humor

Vitreous chamber
located in retina region
filled with vitreous humor: jelly-like substance
vitreous humor helps maintain pressure, holdslens and retina in
place, refracts light
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Functions of Eye
Light Refraction (Bending of light)
Focal point
point where light rays converge
occurs anterior to retina
object is inverted

Focusing Images on Retina

Accommodation
lens becomes less rounded and image can be focused on
retina
enables eye to focus on images closer than 20 feet

Neuronal Pathway for Vision

Optic nerve
leaves eye and exits orbit through optic foramen to enter
cranial cavity

Optic chiasm
where 2 optic nerves connect

Optic tracts
route of ganglion axons

Figure 9.16b

Light will
enter the eye

Optic nerve
leaves the eye

Cranial cavityOptic chiasm

Optic
radiations

Thalamus

Optic tracts

Visual cortex
of the
cerebrum

Eye Defects
Myopia
Nearsightedness
image is in front of retina

Hyperopia:
Farsightedness
image is behind retina

Presbyopia
lens becomes less elastic
reading glasses required
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Clinical Focus 9A

 Astigmatism
irregular curvature of lens
glasses or contacts required to correct

Colorblindness
absence or deficient cones
primarily in males

Glaucoma
decreased pressure in eye
can lead to blindness

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58

Hearing and Balance

External (Outer) Ear
Extends from outside of head to eardrum
Auricle
fleshy part on outside

External auditory canal

canal that leads to eardrum
Lined with hairs and ceruminous glands
Help prevent foreign object from reaching the tympanic membrane

Tympanic membrane
Eardrum
thin membrane that separates external and middle ear
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Middle Ear
Air filled chamber
Oval window and round window
separates middle and inner ear

Malleus (hammer)
bone attached to tympanic membrane

Incus (anvil)
bone that connects malleus to stapes

Stapes (stirrup)
bone located at base of oval window
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 Eustachian or auditory tube

opens into pharynx
equalizes air pressure between outside air and middle ear

Distortion of tympanic membrane can cause pain

Swallowing
Yawning
Chewing
Holding the nose and mouth shut while gently forcing air
out of the lungs
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Inner Ear
Set of fluid filled chambers
Bony labyrinth:
- tunnels filled with fluid
- 3 regions: cochlea, vestibule, semicircular canals
Membranous labyrinth:
- inside bony labyrinth
- filled with endolymph

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 Endolymph:
clear fluid in membranous labyrinth
Perilymph:
fluid between membranous and bony labyrinth
Cochlea:
- snail-shell shaped structure
- where hearing takes place

3 Divisions of Cochlea
Scala vestibuli:
- oval window to the apex of the cochlea
- filled with perilymph
Scala tympani:
- parallel with scala vestibuli from the apex back to the
round window
- filled with perilymph
Cochlear duct:
- space between the vestibular and basilar membrane
- filled with endolymph

 Vestibular membrane
wall of membranous labyrinth that lines scala vestibuli

Basilar membrane
wall of membranous labyrinth that lines scala tympani

 Spiral organ (organ of Corti)

- in cochlear duct
- contains specialized sensory cells hair cells
(stereocilia)
Tectorial membrane:
- attached to the spiral lamina
- vibrates against hair cells
Hair cells:
attached to sensory neurons that when bent
produce an action potential

How do we hear?
1.

Sound travels in waves through air and is funneled into

ear by auricle.
2. Auricle through external auditory meatus to tympanic
membrane.
3. Tympanic membrane vibrates and sound is amplified
by malleus, incus, stapes which transmit sound to oval
window.
4. Oval window produces waves in perilymph of cochlea.

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5. Vibrations of perilymph cause vestibular membrane

and endolymph to vibrate.
6. Endolymph cause displacement of basilar membrane.
7. Movement of basilar membrane is detected by hair
cells in spiral organ.
8. Hair cells become bent and cause action potential is
created.

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Sound waves will

enter the tympanic
membrane (eardrum)

Auditory complex of
the cerebrum

AP will go through
the vestibulocochlear
nerve (Cranial nerve
VII)

Cochlear nucleus in
the Brainstem

Thalamus

Project in the inferior

colliculus in midbrain.
*Superior colliculus

Balance (Equilibrium)
Static equilibrium:
- associated with vestibule
- evaluates position of head relative to gravity
Dynamic equilibrium:
- associated with semicircular canals
- evaluates changes in direction and rate of head
movement

 Vestibule
inner ear
Divided into 2 chamber: utricle and saccule

Maculae
specialized patches of epithelium in utricle and saccule
surround by endolymph
contain hair cells

Otoliths
gelatinous substance that moves in response to gravity
attached to hair cell microvilli which initiate action
potentials

 Semicircular canals
dynamic equilibrium
sense movement if any direction

Ampulla
base of semicircular canal

Crista ampullaris
in ampulla

Cupula
gelatinous mass
contains microvilli
float that is displaced by endolymph movement
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Movement will
be detected

Hair cell of the

microvilli will
bend

AP to the
vestibular
nerves

Vestibular
nucleus in the
brainstem

Vestibulococlear
nerves (Cranial
nerve VIII)

Join to the
Cochlear nerves

CNS
(Cerebellum or
Cortex)

Effects of Aging on the Senses

Elderly people will experience a general decline in
some general sense as well as in specialized senses
such as: taste, vision, hearing and balance.