PSYC 3270 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Anosmia, Sodium Chloride, Piriform Cortex

• School: York University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 3270
• Professor: Lesley Deas

Document Summary

Without sense of touch, would have increase injury risk because wouldn"t have warnings (bruises, burns); also would be hard to interact with environment due to lack of feedback from skin. Somatosensory system: made of cutaneous senses (perceptions caused by skin stimulations), proprioception (sense position of body and limbs) and kinesthesis (sense movement of body) Overview of the cutaneous system: the skin. Warming function, as well as prevents body fluids from escaping and protects us by keeping bacteria, chemical agents and dirt from penetrating our bodies. Also provides us with information about the various stimuli that contact it. Outer layer of skin (epidermis), below that is another layer (dermis) In the skin, mechanoreceptors respond to mechanical stimulation like pressure: mechanoreceptors. Slowly adapting (sa): respond with prolonged firing to continued pressure. Rapidly adapting (ra): respond with bursts of firing just at the onset and offset.