Physiology 2130 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Postcentral Gyrus, Spinothalamic Tract, Lamellar Corpuscle

• School: Western University
• Department: Physiology
• Course: Physiology 2130
• Professor: Carlie Bell

Document Summary

Module 7- the sensory system: the body has many sensory systems to detect changes in the external environment. The somatosensory (touch) system, the visual system, auditory, the olfactory (smell) system and the gustatory (taste) system: transduction of environmental information is converting environmental stimulus into a language the brain understands. Sensory receptors convert these stimuli into action potentials: for example, mechanical stimulus will stretch sensory receptors in the skin, opening ion channels, causing a depolarization and thus an action potential. Chemical stimulus (e. g. sour taste) binds with a receptor, causing depolarization and action potential. Light energy is absorbed by photoreceptors in the eye, which are converted to an action potential: an adequate stimulus is the particular form of environmental stimulus to which the sensory receptor is sensitive. For example, the adequate stimulus for rod and cone cells in the eye is light.