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Introduction
Sensory organs allow us to perceive our environment by converting energy sources in the environment, like
light or sound, to nerve impulses which our brains can interpret. The process of converting environmental stimuli
into nerve impulses is called transduction. The world, which we perceive, is entirely dependent on the transduction
properties of our sense organs. These properties differ between animal species. The world to a human looks, tastes,
sounds, smells, etc. completely different from that perceived by another animal.
Each sensory organ responds to a particular kind of input, and only to a relatively small range of possible
stimuli within that modality. The visual system, for example, responds to light, which is a form of electromagnetic
radiation. We can only see a small portion of the possible wavelengths of this radiation, because our eyes can only
respond to certain wavelengths (see Table 1). Other insects, and birds, for example, can see ultraviolet light, which
is invisible to humans. Boas and pit vipers can detect infrared radiation with special, non-visual, organs. Within the
range of stimuli to which a sense organ responds, the organ will respond more readily to some stimuli than others.
In other words, sensory organs act as filters -- only allowing us to perceive those stimuli which evolution has
determined are critical for survival.
In this lab, you will use some of the methods employed by sensory physiologists to objectively quantify
human perceptual capabilities. You will see how our perception is influenced and limited by the properties of our
sense organs. You will examine three sensory modalities: (1) vision, (2) hearing, and (3) touch. In a number of the
following experiments, you will determine thresholds. A threshold is the amplitude of intensity of a stimulus at
which it is just barely detectable.
I. Vision
Vision involves the detection of light, often reflected off other objects. Light is a form of electromagnetic
radiation. It travels in waves. Different wavelengths of light produce the sensation of different colors. The range of
different wavelengths is called the spectrum (see Table 1). The visible spectrum is the familiar colors of the
rainbow. Light is detected by the eyes.
II. Hearing
Sound consists of rapid changes in air pressure. These pressure changes travel through the air as waves.
These waves of pressure change travel through the air and into our ears. Figure 5 shows a simplified picture of the
human ear. The sound pressure waves enter the ear and cause the eardrum, or tympanum, to vibrate back and
forth. The vibrations of the eardrum are passed through a series of three inner ear bones to an organ called the
cochlea. The cochlea is a long thin organ, which, in humans, is coiled into a snail shell shape. Two membranes run
the length of the cochlea, with tiny hairs suspended between them. One of these membranes, the basilar
membrane, vibrates at the same rate as the eardrum, the other, the tectorial membrane, does not vibrate. This
causes a shearing force in the hairs. This shearing force is converted to electrical potential, and causes nerve spikes
to be sent, via the neurons of the auditory nerve, to the brain. The amplitude of the vibration in the cochlea varies
along its length, depending on the frequency of the stimulation. Low frequency vibrations stimulate the far end of
the cochlea, while high frequencies stimulate the near end. The brain determines the frequency of a sound by noting
how far down the cochlea the nerve cell, which is sending signals, is located.
The ear is not equally sensitive to all sound frequencies. A greater amplitude is required to hear some
sound frequencies than others, while some cannot be heard at all. In this lab, you will measure the relative
sensitivity of the human ear to sounds of different frequency.
III. Touch
The sense of touch, as well as hot and cold, is mediated by a variety of sense organs located in the skin.
Sense of pain and hot/cold is mediated by free nerve ending s near the surface of the skin. There are a large number
of receptors, which consist of nerve endings wrapped around the base of hairs, which protrude from the skin and
detect light touch. There are also pressure receptors called Pascinian corpuscles, which are located below the
surface of the skin. These resemble tiny onions in shape.
The ability to precisely locate a stimulus on the skin depends on the local density of these receptors. You
will examine this effect in the lab today.
Another phenomenon that can be readily observed with the sense of touch (although it occurs in all sensory
modalities) is the phenomenon of adaptation, in which sensitivity to a stimulus declines rapidly with exposure time.
This occurs in many sense organs. It allows the brain to direct attention to important stimuli and ignore those that
are constantly present. In general, changes in stimulation are more critical for attention that is ongoing stimuli.
Thus under constant stimulation, the receptor stops sending messages to the brain. This allows us, for example, to
wear clothing without having our brain being constantly aware of the contact with our skin. If, however, someone
touches us on the back, the touch receptors detect the change and send messages to the brain that the back is being
touched.
Experiment 1:
Spectral Sensitivity
In this experiment, you will measure the minimum stimulus intensity required for a light of a given wavelength to be
visible. You will test six different wavelengths and plot a spectral sensitivity curve. You will also observe the
effects of dark and light adaptation on spectral sensitivity.
1. Turn on the illuminator to the low setting. Figure out how to change the intensity of the beam falling on
the screen by sliding the variable density filter back and forth. The number at the arrow indicates the
percent of maximum brightness passing through the filter. Figure out how to change the color filters.
3. Have the subject face the screen. Move the variable filter to 99% transmission. Place one of the colored
filters in the holder in front of the illuminator. Now turn on the illuminator. Turn out the room lights.
4. Gradually darken the image on the screen (by moving the variable filter) until the subject reports that
he/she cannot see the projected light on the screen.
5. Turn on the room lights. Record the stimulus intensity at threshold (the value, in %, from the variable
filter) in Data Table 1.
6. Return the variable filter position to 99% and choose a new filter. Repeat the steps above for all six filters.
Be sure to turn the room lights on between each test (this assures that the subject will remain light adapted).
7. When you have recorded the threshold for each of the six filters, turn the room lights out and keep the room
totally dark for at least 15 minutes. Now repeat the entire experiment, keeping the room lights off. Use the
small flashlight covered with red cellophane to read the threshold values and change the filters.
8. When you have time (later in the lab for example) plot the data for light and dark room on Graph 1.
Questions:
1. Can you see a difference in the threshold levels for the dark adapted and light adapted states?
2. Is there a difference in the wavelength of peak sensitivity for rod vision (dim light) versus cone vision
(bright light)?
3. In World War II, fliers going out on night missions would receive their instructions in a room lit only with
red light. Based on your data, can you guess why this was done?
Experiment 2:
When the eye remains in the dark for a period of time, the ability to see gradually improves as the quantity
of visual pigment builds up in the photoreceptors. In the following experiment you will plot the time course of this
change in sensitivity.
1. Turn the room lights on. Choose a subject and have him/her face the screen. Turn the illuminator on and
figure out how to use the variable density filter to change the brightness of the image. Once the room
lights are turned off, only use the flashlight covered with red cellophane to record data. It is very important
that the subject see as little light as possible. For the experiment to work well, the subject should keep
his/her eyes closed except when the sensitivity is being tested.
2. Move the variable filter to near 1 (i.e. make the image too dark to see). Start the stopwatch and turn out the
room lights. Adjust the brightness until the subject reports the spot of light is just visible. Turn the
brightness down until the subject reports it disappears. Record the position of the filter by reading the
number off the scale that the pointer points to.
4. Record the results in Data Table 2. Later, when time is available, plot the results on Graph 2.
Questions:
1. Is your graph smooth all the way, or is there a break or sudden change in the shape of the plot?
2. Can you explain the shape of your plot in terms of what you know about rods, cones, and changes in
pigment concentration?
Turn the room lights on. Stand at the tape and determine the smallest row of letters that you can clearly
read. Now turn the lights down (use the lamp with the dimmer switch to achieve relatively low illumination), and
observe what happens to your resolving power.
Questions:
1. Examine Figure 2 and explain your results based on the different way rods and cones are configured in the
retina.
2. What are the implications of these results for the relative safety of night versus daytime driving?
Experiment 3:
Audition
A. Observing Sound
A microphone is a device that converts sound (pressure waves) into electrical potentials, which can then be
observed on an oscilloscope. Observe the patterns on the oscilloscope as you talk, sing, clap, or whatever, into the
microphone. Try singing a pure tone. Change from high to low sounds. Try jangling keys into the microphone.
This will produce sounds that are too high for the human ear to detect. Many animals, such as bats, rodents, and
many insects, can hear these ultrasounds. Use the tuning fork to observe a pure tone. This waveform is called a
sine wave. Sounds that are not pure tones are produced by adding sine waves of different frequencies together.
1. Turn on the function generator. Make sure the sine wave button is pressed in. Note the frequency dial
and the frequency multiplier buttons. These two numbers are multiplied together to get the correct
frequency.
2 Choose a subject and have her/him put the earphones on. The subject should adjust the amplitude of the
signal by himself, to avoid dangerously loud stimulation. Choose a frequency and turn the amplitude knob
until the subject can barely hear the tone. Read the threshold amplitude from the digital voltmeter. The
amplitude is given in millivolts. Fill out Data Table 3 giving the amplitude at which each of the listed
frequencies is just barely audible. Plot the data on Graph 3. Note that the axes of the graph have scales
that increase exponentially. This is called a log scale. Such scales are used when the data to be plotted
covers a very large range. It allows all of the data to be presented in a single graph. Pay careful attention
to the pattern of the intervals on the scales of the graph.
3. Have each person in the group listen to the sine wave generator at different frequencies. Change from a
sine wave to a triangle wave, and then to a square wave. These other waves sound similar to the sine wave,
but consist of many higher frequency sine waves added to the original. Can you hear the additional high
frequencies?
C. Localizing Sound
The ability to localize sound depends on the detection of small differences in arrival time at the two ears.
1. Place the ends of the acoustic pipe over the ears of the subject, who keeps his/her eyes closed. Tap lightly
on the pipe at different locations, and ask the subject to report whether the sound comes from the right or
the left. See how close to the middle of the pipe you can tap and still have the person be able to detect the
side from which it is coming. Try bending the pipe to one side, and tapping directly behind (or in front) of
the subject. Which side does the sound appear to come from? Try placing the tuning fork on the pipe.
Which is easier to localize: a tapping sound, or an extended pure tone? Many animals have warning cries
that are fairly long and pure tone in quality. This makes them difficult to locate. This allows the animal to
warn its family members without giving away its location to a potential predator.
Experiment 4:
Tactile Sensation
A. Two-Point Perception
1. Choose a subject and have her/him place their arm on the table with the palm face up and the skin exposed.
Touch the skin with two points close together. Ask the subject if they detect one or two distinct points.
Move the points apart until they can clearly detect two points.
2. Starting with the tip of the middle finger, measure the two-point distance (i.e. the distance at which the
subject can just distinguish two pints) every few centimeters along the finger and hand, and then every
10cm up the arm. Record the results in Table 4 and plot them in Graph 4. Where are the touch receptors
at the greatest density?
3. Try the two-point distance on other locations such as the lips, the scalp, and the face.
Question:
How does the minimum two-point distance relate to density of tactile receptors in the skin?
Question:
Relate what you experience to the concept of adaptation.
Experiment 5:
Color Vision
The ability to distinguish different wavelengths as colors, independent of their brightness depends on the
presence of three kinds of cones. However, if you choose three different colored lights, such that each stimulates
one set of cones, you can cause the output from the different sets of cones to occur in any possible ratio, and thereby
fool the brain into seeing nearly any possible color.
1. Turn on each of the three projectors. Note that one shines pure red light, one pure green, and one pure
blue. Each of these colors primarily stimulates one set of cones. Point the projectors so that there is a zone
of overlap of the three colors.
2. Play with the irises in front of the projectors and create as many different colors as you can. Pick one color,
and note the positions of each of the irises. Increase the iris on each projector by the same amount. What
happens?
Conclusion:
By the end of the lab, each group should have graphs 1, 2, 3, and 4 filled out for at least one subject. We will
discuss these results together at the end of the lab period.