Sense Organs and Special Senses

Mid-Term 01/29/2013

Overview
Receptor Classification
Properties and types

General senses Chemical senses Hearing and Equilibrium Vision

Properties of Receptors
Sensory transduction
convert stimulus energy into nerve energy

Receptor potential
local electrical change in receptor cell

Adaptation
conscious sensation declines with continued stimulation

Receptors Transmit Information

Modality - type of stimulus Location
each sensory receptor receives input from its receptive field sensory projection - brain identifies site of stimulation

Intensity
frequency, number of fibers and which fibers

Duration - change in firing frequency over time

phasic receptor - burst of activity and quickly adapt (smell and hair receptors) tonic receptor - adapt slowly, generate impulses continually (proprioceptor)

Receptive Fields

Receptor Types
By modality:
chemo-, thermo-, mechano-, photo- receptors and nociceptors

By origin of stimuli
interoceptors - detect internal stimuli proprioceptors - sense body position and movements exteroceptors - detect external stimuli

By distribution
general senses - widely distributed special senses - limited to head

Unencapsulated Nerve Endings

Not wrapped in connective tissue Types
Free nerve endings
Warm Cold Nociceptors (pain)

Tactile discs
Tonic for light touch

Hair receptors

Encapsulated Nerve Endings

Wrapped in glial cells or connective tissue Types
Meissners corpuscles
Phasic for light touch, sensitive to hairless areas like fingertips

Krause end bulbs

Phasic for light touch, mucous membrane

Pacinian corpuscles
Phasic for deep pressure, stretch, tickle, vibration

Ruffini endings
Tonic for heavy touch, pressure and joint movement

Pain
Nociceptors allow awareness of tissue injuries
found in all tissues except the brain

Fast pain travels in myelinated fibers at 30 m/sec

sharp, localized, stabbing pain perceived with injury

Slow pain travels unmyelinated fibers at 2 m/sec

longer-lasting, dull, diffuse feeling

Somatic pain from skin, muscles and joints Visceral pain from stretch, chemical irritants or ischemia of viscera (poorly localized) Injured tissues release chemicals that stimulate pain fibers (bradykinin, histamine, prostaglandin)

Referred Pain
Misinterpreted pain
brain assumes visceral pain is coming from skin heart pain felt in shoulder or arm because both send pain input to spinal cord segments T1 to T5

CNS Modulation of Pain

Intensity of pain - affected by state of mind Endogenous opiods (enkephalins, endorphins and dynorphins)
produced by CNS and other organs under stress in dorsal horn of spinal cord (spinal gating) act as neuromodulators block transmission of pain

Chemical Senses
Smell
Describe the olfactory receptors and the neural pathways for olfaction

Taste
Describe the gustatory receptors and the neural pathways for gustation

Olfaction: Sense of Smell

Nose has 10-100 million receptors for olfaction Olfactory epithelium is 5 cm2 Sensitive up to 10,000 odors

Olfactory Epithelial Cells

Olfactory cells
olfactory hairs neurons with 20 cilia
bind odor molecules in thin layer of mucus

axons pass through cribriform plate survive 60 days

Supporting cells Basal cells

Divide Produce new receptors

Anatomy and Physiology of Smell

Olfactory Pathway
Unmyelinated axons extend through the cribriform plate; forms olfactory (CNI) nerve CNI terminates in olfactory bulbs Olfactory tract project to the lateral olfactory area of the temporal lobe From lateral areas, pathways extend to frontal lobe.

Molecules bind to receptor on olfactory hair

hydrophilic - diffuse through mucus hydrophobic - transport by odorant-binding protein

Activate G protein and cAMP system Opens ion channels for Na+ or Ca2+
creates a receptor potential

Action potential travels to brain Receptors adapt quickly

due to synaptic inhibition in olfactory bulbs

Gustation: Sense of Taste

Five primary tastes can be distinguished
Sour, sweet, bitter, salty and umani (meaty or savory)

Odors from food can pass into nasal cavity where they stimulate olfactory receptors. Olfaction is more sensitive than taste, food may stimulate olfaction over taste. People with colds may complain that they cannot taste their food. This is due to blocking olfaction, not taste

Anatomy of Gustatory Receptors

Lingual papillae
filiform (no taste buds)
important for texture

foliate (no taste buds) fungiform

at tips and sides of tongue

vallate (circumvallate)
at rear of tongue contains 1/2 of taste buds

Anatomy of the Taste Bud

Gustatory hair projects from receptor through taste port. Receptor cells are supported by basal cells, which replace receptor cells every 10 days.

Physiology of Taste
Three cranial nerves contain axons of 1st order gustatory neurons from taste buds.
Facial Glossopharyngeal Vagus

Transfer signals to medulla oblongata Signal then goes to hypothalamus (salivation) or thalamus. Thalamus to parietal lobe of cerebrum (conscious of the taste).

Taste Aversion
Strong link between taste and pleasant or unpleasant emotions Sweet tastes evoke pleasure, bitter evokes disgust. Taste aversion: avoiding foods if it upset digestive system. Advantage: longer survival of species Disadvantage: Radiation Rx cause taste aversion in patients

Vision
Objectives:
List and describe the accessory structures of the eye and the structural components of the eyeball Describe the neural pathway for vision

Accessory Structures
Eyelids
Palbebral fissure
Lateral commissure Medial commissure

Conjunctiva
Mucous membrane, vascular Bloodshot eyes

Eyelashes/Eyebrows
Protect from foreign objects, perspiration and the direct rays of the sun

Accessory Structures
Lacrimal Apparatus
Produces and drains tears. Lacrimal gland
Fluid that contains a bactericidal enzyme

Moves medially to Lacrimal punctum Drains into lacrimal sac and then into nasolacrimal duct

Cry: Parasympathetic stimulation of lacrimal glands

Accessory Stuctures
Extrinsic Eye Muscles
Superior rectus Inferior rectus Lateral rectus Medial rectus Superior oblique Inferior oblique

Anatomy of the Eyeball

2.5 cm in diameter Wall of the eyeball consists of:
Fibrous tunic Vascular tunic Retina

Fibrous tunic
Cornea
Allows light in

Sclera
Shape of eyeball White of the eye

Vascular tunic
Choroid Ciliary body Iris
Pupil Circular muscles
Constriction Dilation

Retina
Posterior of inner eyeball Optic part has two layers
Pigmented layer
Absorbs scattered light in eyeball, keeps image sharp

Neural layer
Multilayered outgrowth of brain, process visual image before sending impulses to optic nerve

Photoreceptors: Rod and cone cells

Rod: allow us to see in dim light, do not provide color, shades of gray only Cone: Produce color vision

Detached retina
Detached between two layers Distorted vision and blindness in corresponding field of vision Re-attached through laser surgery

Lens
Posterior to pupil and iris Focus images on the retina to facilitate clear vision

Interior of the eyeball

Anterior cavity
Anterior chamber Posterior chamber Aqueous humor

Vitreous chamber
Vitreous body to keep shape of eyeball and keep retina attached to choroid

The visual pathway

1st order neurons: retina 2nd order neurons: optic nerve
Advance toward optic chiasm, and split

3rd order neurons: thalamus to occipital lobe

Hearing and Equilibrium

Describe the anatomy of the structures of the three principle regions of the ear. List the principle events involved in hearing. Identify the receptor organs for equilibrium Describe the auditory and equilibrium pathway

Anatomy of the Outer Ear

Outer ear
Auricle
Helix and Lobule

Auditory canal

Anatomy of the Middle Ear

Air-filled tympanic cavity Contains
Tympanic membrane Ossicles
Malleus Incus Stapes

Anatomy of the Inner Ear

Bony labyrinth Semicircular canals
Right angles to each other

Cochlea
Transmission of sound

Inner hair cells

Stimulation of Cochlear Hair Cells

Vibration of ossicles causes vibration of basilar membrane under hair cells
as often as 20,000 times/second

Equilibrium Pathways
Vestibular apparatus
Semicircular ducts

Static equilibrium
Saccule and utricle are responsible

Dynamic equilibrium
Semicircular ducts are responbible