Podcast
Questions and Answers
What is the primary function of cone cells?
What is the primary function of cone cells?
Where are rod cells primarily located in the eye?
Where are rod cells primarily located in the eye?
How does wave amplitude affect visual perception?
How does wave amplitude affect visual perception?
Which part of the eye is responsible for controlling the amount of light that enters?
Which part of the eye is responsible for controlling the amount of light that enters?
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Which of the following statements is true about rod cells?
Which of the following statements is true about rod cells?
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What role does the cornea play in vision?
What role does the cornea play in vision?
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Why is it difficult to see colors in low light conditions?
Why is it difficult to see colors in low light conditions?
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What is the primary function of the retina?
What is the primary function of the retina?
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What is the primary function of sensation in the human body?
What is the primary function of sensation in the human body?
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Which type of sensory receptor is responsible for receiving stimuli from the external environment?
Which type of sensory receptor is responsible for receiving stimuli from the external environment?
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How does perception differ from sensation?
How does perception differ from sensation?
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Which of the following examples is an interoceptor function?
Which of the following examples is an interoceptor function?
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What is a characteristic of sensory receptors?
What is a characteristic of sensory receptors?
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What happens during the process of sensation?
What happens during the process of sensation?
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Which type of sensory receptor detects internal sensations such as stomach pain?
Which type of sensory receptor detects internal sensations such as stomach pain?
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What does the process of perception enable individuals to do?
What does the process of perception enable individuals to do?
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What is a common consequence for a person with only one eye?
What is a common consequence for a person with only one eye?
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At what stage of life do eyes begin to develop?
At what stage of life do eyes begin to develop?
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What percentage of their adult size are newborn babies' eyes at birth?
What percentage of their adult size are newborn babies' eyes at birth?
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Which condition is characterized by the inability to see objects that are far away clearly?
Which condition is characterized by the inability to see objects that are far away clearly?
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How often do people blink on average?
How often do people blink on average?
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What is the primary muscle type associated with the human eye's movement?
What is the primary muscle type associated with the human eye's movement?
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Which statement about tears and age is accurate?
Which statement about tears and age is accurate?
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Which type of color blindness is characterized by the complete inability to see color?
Which type of color blindness is characterized by the complete inability to see color?
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What is the primary cause of conductive hearing loss?
What is the primary cause of conductive hearing loss?
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Which type of hearing loss is most commonly associated with aging?
Which type of hearing loss is most commonly associated with aging?
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What treatment options are typically available for conductive hearing loss?
What treatment options are typically available for conductive hearing loss?
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Which statement about sensorineural hearing loss is true?
Which statement about sensorineural hearing loss is true?
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What characterizes mixed hearing loss?
What characterizes mixed hearing loss?
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The perception of taste can sometimes be affected by damage to which area?
The perception of taste can sometimes be affected by damage to which area?
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What role did parrots play during World War I?
What role did parrots play during World War I?
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What is the typical response of the eardrum to sound?
What is the typical response of the eardrum to sound?
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What is the main reason ear infections are more common in children than in adults?
What is the main reason ear infections are more common in children than in adults?
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At what decibel level can hearing damage occur in just 7.5 minutes?
At what decibel level can hearing damage occur in just 7.5 minutes?
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What percentage of children with hearing loss experience academic failure?
What percentage of children with hearing loss experience academic failure?
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What is the primary cause of hearing loss?
What is the primary cause of hearing loss?
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Which of the following statements about the inner ear is correct?
Which of the following statements about the inner ear is correct?
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How many primary odors do humans have to identify objects?
How many primary odors do humans have to identify objects?
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Which of the following is true about earwax?
Which of the following is true about earwax?
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What is unique about each individual's sense of smell?
What is unique about each individual's sense of smell?
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What substance in chili peppers causes a sensation of pain and heat?
What substance in chili peppers causes a sensation of pain and heat?
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How many taste buds does the average human have?
How many taste buds does the average human have?
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Which of the following factors can dull the sense of taste?
Which of the following factors can dull the sense of taste?
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What is the function of the skin as the largest sensory organ?
What is the function of the skin as the largest sensory organ?
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Why is the sense of touch important for humans?
Why is the sense of touch important for humans?
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What happens to taste bud sensitivity after a night’s sleep?
What happens to taste bud sensitivity after a night’s sleep?
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Which of the following can affect taste perception?
Which of the following can affect taste perception?
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What aspect of taste preferences is influenced by genetics?
What aspect of taste preferences is influenced by genetics?
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Study Notes
Sensation and Perception
- Sensation is the process by which our senses gather information and send it to the brain. It's a passive process of bringing information from the outside world into the body.
- Perception is an active process of selecting, organizing, and interpreting the information brought to the brain by the senses.
- Sensation occurs in two stages:
- Sensory organs absorb energy from a physical stimulus in the environment.
- Sensory receptors convert this energy to neural impulses and send them to the brain.
- Examples of sensory stimulus include touch, pressure, pain, light, sound, position in space, and vibration.
- Sensory receptors are specialized sensitive cells that respond to and detect stimuli.
Types of Sensory Receptors
- Exteroceptors: Receive sensory information from outside the body (e.g., visual, auditory, tactile, gustatory, olfactory).
- Interoceptors: Receive sensory information from inside the body (e.g., from the viscera – hollow organs – stomach pain, pinched spinal nerves, deep skin inflammation).
- Proprioceptors: Receive unconscious information about body position and movement (e.g., located in muscles, tendons, joints, and semicircular canals of the inner ear).
Cutaneous Receptors
- Found at the distal ends of the primary sensory axon
- Act as dendrites
- Threshold stimuli lead to the firing of an action potential at the initial segment of the primary sensory axon.
- Respond to pain, temperature, pressure, vibration, and discriminative touch.
- Can be located superficially in the skin (exteroceptors) or in the deeper layers (interoceptors).
- Different cutaneous receptors are responsible for different sensations (free nerve endings - pain, Krause's end bulbs - cold, Ruffini's endings - heat, Meissner's corpuscles - touch, Pacinian corpuscles - pressure).
Sensory Adaptation
- Sensory adaptation refers to a reduction in sensitivity to a stimulus after constant exposure to it.
- It helps to free up attention and resources for other stimuli.
- This applies to all senses including but not limited to sight, hearing, and smell.
Sight/Vision
- The eye is the organ of vision.
- It has a complex structure consisting of a transparent lens that focuses light onto the retina.
- The retina is covered with two basic types of light-sensitive cells: rods and cones.
- Cones: Photoreceptor cells in the retinas of vertebrate eyes (including the human eye). Respond differently to various light wavelengths, responsible for color vision and function best in relatively bright light. Sensitive to color and are located in the fovea of the retina where light is focused.
- Rods: Photoreceptor cells in the retinas of vertebrate eyes (including the human eye). Responsible for vision in low light conditions. More sensitive to light than cones and are located around the fovea. Not sensitive to color. Visual input from the eyes is mapped to the back of the brain.
Parts of the Eye
- Cornea: The round, transparent area that allows light to pass into the eye.
- Lens: The transparent structure that focuses light onto the retina.
- Retina: The inner membrane of the eye that receives information about light using rods and cones. Functionally similar to the spinal cord, acting as a highway for information.
- Pupil: The opening at the center of the iris that controls the amount of light entering the eye. Dilates and constricts.
Audition/Hearing
- The ear is the organ of hearing.
- It is the transduction of sound waves into a neural signal that occurs through the structures of the ear.
- Sound waves are vibrations in the air that the auditory system processes. Sound is a mechanical wave that vibrates the particles of the medium through which the sound wave moves.
- Sound waves are measured by:
- Amplitude (the decibel), defining loudness.
- Frequency (Hertz), defining pitch.
- Timbre (complexity of a sound)
Parts of the Human Ear
- Outer Ear: The visible portion of the ear (the pinna) that collects and directs sound waves to the middle ear.
- Middle Ear: An air-filled cavity with tiny bones (ossicles) that amplify and transmit sound waves to the inner ear. The tympanic membrane is the ear drum and separates the outer ear from the middle ear.
- Inner Ear: A liquid-filled cavity that transforms sound vibrations into nerve impulses that the brain interprets. The cochlea is the essential part for changing sound vibrations to nerve impulses for the brain. Eustachian tube is the tube that connects the middle ear to the back of the throat to equalize pressure between the middle ear and outside air.
Hearing Loss
- Hearing loss can be categorized by which part of the auditory system is damaged
- Conductive Hearing Loss: typically results from obstructions in the outer or middle ear, due to fluid, tumors, earwax, or even ear formation. This prevents sound from reaching the inner ear. Often treated surgically or with medicine. Sound is not conducted efficiently from the outer ear to the eardrum and ossicles.
- Sensorineural Hearing Loss: common type of hearing loss. Results from damage to inner ear nerves and hair cells due to age, noise damage or something else. It impacts the pathways from the inner ear to the brain. Most times cannot be treated medically or surgically, and hearing aids may be an option.
- Mixed Hearing Loss: A combination of sensorineural and conductive hearing loss, involving issues with both outer/middle ear conduction and inner ear nerve function (cochlea and associated pathways/nerve).
Smell/Olfaction
- The olfactory system is the sensory system used for smelling (olfaction).
- Olfaction is a chemical sense that occurs when chemicals in the air reach receptor cells in the nasal cavities.
- Most mammals and reptiles have a main olfactory system and an accessory olfactory system.
Taste/Gustation
- Taste (or gustation) is a sense that develops through the interaction of dissolved molecules with taste buds.
- The five primary tastes are sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami (savory taste of protein).
- Taste happens when chemicals stimulate receptors on the tongue, throat, cheeks, and roof of the mouth (in taste buds on papillae – little bumps on the skin of the tongue).
- Taste receptors are replaced approximately every ten days.
- Smell and taste are closely related; most food tastes are also partially determined by its smell.
Touch/Tactile
- The skin acts as a protective barrier between our internal body systems and the outside world.
- It is the largest organ and largest sensory organ.
- The sense of touch is what gives our brains a wealth of information about the natural environment, including but not limited to temperature, humidity, and air pressure.
- This sense lets us feel pain which is crucial for avoiding injury, disease, and danger.
- The sensations of touch come through specialized, different receptors in the skin: hair bulbs, free nerve endings, Ruffini cylinders, and Krause end bulbs. These receptors respond to a different stimuli: (hair bulbs – pressure, free nerve endings – pain, Ruffini cylinders– warmth, Krause end bulbs – cold)
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