1. Why are sensory receptors good translators (i.e., what do they do)?
a What are the four types of sensory receptors and give an example for each?
b. How does lateral inhibition enhance the perception of a stimulus?
c ) Why is spatial preservation so important in the somatosensory system?
d) Hair cells transduce sound waves into action potentials via mechanoreception. They communicate intensity of sound (loudness) because they fire more action potentials when the stimulus is louder; however, they are not able to transduce information regarding the location of the sound in the environment. How is location of sound determined in the brain?
e) Describe the receptive field for a hair cell (hint, what makes a given hair cell fire an action potential?). What is the main characteristic of the basilar membrane that determines the specific receptive field for an individual hair cell?
1. Why are sensory receptors good translators (i.e., what do they do)?
a What are the four types of sensory receptors and give an example for each?
b. How does lateral inhibition enhance the perception of a stimulus?
c ) Why is spatial preservation so important in the somatosensory system?
d) Hair cells transduce sound waves into action potentials via mechanoreception. They communicate intensity of sound (loudness) because they fire more action potentials when the stimulus is louder; however, they are not able to transduce information regarding the location of the sound in the environment. How is location of sound determined in the brain?
e) Describe the receptive field for a hair cell (hint, what makes a given hair cell fire an action potential?). What is the main characteristic of the basilar membrane that determines the specific receptive field for an individual hair cell?
