PSY 112 Lecture Notes - Lecture 52: Semicircular Canals, Space Adaptation Syndrome, Hair Cell
7 Aug 2018
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• Balance:
➢ Several structures of the ear are related more to our sense of balance than to
our hearing.
➢ Vestibular System: responds to the pull of gravity and allows us to maintain
our balance.
o EX: Standing in a bus in stop-and-go traffic.
▪ Main structure is formed by semicircular canals of inner.
❖ Consists of 3 tubes containing fluid that sloshes through them the
head moves, signaling rotational or angular movement to the
brain.
➢ Otoliths: tiny, motion-sensitive crystals in semicircular canals.
o Pull on our bodies caused by acceleration of forward, backward, or up-
and-down motion
o Constant pull of gravity.
▪ When we move, crystals shift.
❖ EX: Sand moving on a windy beach.
▪ Contacts specialized receptor hair cells in semicircular canals.
❖ Brain’s inexperience in interpreting messages from weightless
otoliths is the cause of space sickness commonly experienced by
2/3 of all space travelers.
• Smell:
➢ Human sense of smell permits us to detect more than 10,000 separate smells.
➢ We also have a good memory for smells.
o Long-forgotten events & memories can be brought back w/ mere whiff of
odor associated w/ a memory.
➢ Sense of smell is sparked when molecules of a substance enter nasal passages
& meet olfactory cells.
Document Summary
Several structures of the ear are related more to our sense of balance than to our hearing. Vestibular system: responds to the pull of gravity and allows us to maintain our balance: ex: standing in a bus in stop-and-go traffic, main structure is formed by semicircular canals of inner. Consists of 3 tubes containing fluid that sloshes through them the head moves, signaling rotational or angular movement to the brain. Otoliths: tiny, motion-sensitive crystals in semicircular canals: pull on our bodies caused by acceleration of forward, backward, or up- and-down motion, constant pull of gravity, when we move, crystals shift. Ex: sand moving on a windy beach: contacts specialized receptor hair cells in semicircular canals. Brain"s inexperience in interpreting messages from weightless otoliths is the cause of space sickness commonly experienced by. Human sense of smell permits us to detect more than 10,000 separate smells.
