PSYB65H3 Chapter 9: Chapter 9 Finished
Document Summary
Sensory receptors are specialized cells that transduce (convert) sensory energyinto neural activity sensory receptors are designed to respond only to specific types of energy. Somatosensory receptors in turn generate action potentials: taste and smell, various chemical molecules carried by the air or contained in food fit themselves into receptors of various shapes to activate action potentials. Each photoreceptor cell within the eye points in a slightly different direction and so has a unique receptive field. Because the receptive fields of adjacent sensory receptors overlap, their relatively different responses to events help us localize sensations. When you move, you change the perceived properties of objects in the world: when we run, visual stimuli appear to stream by us, a stimulus configuration called optic flow. Sensitivity receptor density the more density of sensors the more sensitive the part of the body is e. g hands have more sensor density than arms- hands are better at sensing.
