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Lecture Outline
• Structural classification
• Type of response to a stimulus
• Location of receptors & origin of stimuli
• Type of stimuli they detect
• Mechanoreceptors
– detect pressure or stretch
– touch, pressure, vibration, hearing, proprioception,
equilibrium & blood pressure
• Thermoreceptors detect temperature
• Nociceptors detect damage to tissues
• Photoreceptors detect light
• Chemoreceptors detect molecules
– taste, smell & changes in body fluid chemistry
• Visceral pain that is felt just deep to the skin overlying the stimulated
organ or in a surface area far from the organ.
• Skin area & organ are served by the same segment of the spinal cord.
– Heart attack is felt in skin along left arm since both are supplied by
spinal cord segment T1-T5
• Ruffini corpuscles
– found in joint capsule
– respond to pressure
• Pacinian corpuscles
– found in connective tissue around the joint
– respond to acceleration & deceleration of joints
• Circuit of connections
– cortex to basal ganglia to
thalamus to cortex
– planning movements
• Output from basal ganglia to
reticular formation
– reduces muscle tone
– damage produces rigidity
of Parkinson’s disease
• Circadian rhythm
– 24 hour cycle of sleep and awakening
– established by hypothalamus
• EEG recordings show large amount of activity in
cerebral cortex when awake
• Stage 1
– person is drifting off with eyes
closed (first few minutes)
• Stage 2
– fragments of dreams
– eyes may roll from side to side
• Stage 3
– very relaxed, moderately deep
– 20 minutes, body temperature & BP have dropped
• Stage 4 = deep sleep
– bed-wetting & sleep walking occur in this phase