PSYCO275 Chapter Notes - Chapter 9: Llers, Somatosensory System, Retina
9 Nov 2016
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Document Summary
Chapter 9, section 1. (nature of sensation and perception) The only input our brain receives from the real world is a series of action potentials passed along the neurons that form our various sensory pathways. Sensory receptor neurons are specialized to transducer (convert) sensory energy, light for example, into neural activity. For vision, the photoreceptors in the retina convert light energy into chemical energy, which is in turn converted into action potentials. In the auditory system, air pressure waves are rst converted into mechanical energy, which activates the auditory receptors that produce action potentials in auditory receptor neurons. In the somatosensory system, mechanical energy activates receptors sensitive to touch, pressure, and pain. These somatosensory receptors in turn generate action potentials in somatosensory receptor neurons. For taste and olfaction, various chemical molecules in the air or in food t themselves into receptors of various shapes to activate action potentials in the respective receptor neurons.
