PSY290H5 Chapter Notes - Chapter 5: Bulbous Corpuscle, Lamellar Corpuscle, Tactile Corpuscle
Document Summary
Part i: sensory processing and the somatosensory system. Receptor cells convert sensory signals into electrical activity. The pacinian corpuscle is also called the lamellate corpuscle, is a skin receptor cell type that detects vibration and pressure. Meissner"s corpuscles (also known as tactile corpuscles) are skin receptor cells that detect light touch, responding especially to changes in stimuli: responds to changes in stimuli. Merkel"s disc is a skin receptor cell that detects light touch, responding especially to edges and isolated points on a surface: responds to points on a surface. Ruffini corpuscles are skin receptor cells types that detect stretching of the skin. Free nerve endings are axons that terminate in the skin and have no specialized cells associated with it. Sensory events are encoded as streams of action potentials. The somatosensory system is a set of specialized receptors and neural mechanisms responsible for body sensations such as touch and pain.
