PSYC 3670 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Sensory Neuron, Neural Adaptation, Somatosensory System

• School: York University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 3670
• Professor: Kristoffer Romero

Document Summary

Part 1: sensory processing & the somatosensory system. Somatosensory system: set of receptors & neural mechanisms responsible for body sensations such as touch and pain, position & movement of joints. Receptor cells: respond to particular inner/outer energy, converting it to electrical potential. Di erent receptors -> separate nerve tracts -> sense are independant (some overlap) Dorsal-root ganglion neurons: long dendrites of receptors belong to these neurons. Placement: inside(interoceptive) & outside (exteroceptive) body, di erent concentrations. High threshold: two points close together & can"t distinguish between the two (back) Low threshold: two points close together & can distinguish between the two (lips/ nger) Specialized receptors: snakes (infrared heat), bats (ultra-sonic), bees (uv), sh (electrical) Di erent receptors for di erent types of energy = action potentials = we make sense of environment. Stimuli: a physical event that triggers a sensory response. Labeled lines: particular neurons labeled for distinctive sensory experiences.