PSY352H5 Chapter Notes - Chapter 5: Chemoreceptor, Sensory Neuron, Umwelt
Document Summary
Animals require environmental information from their sensory systems. Chapter 5: environmental heterogeneity can negatively affect the fitness of individuals, cannot respond appropriately to different environmental conditions, animals assess current conditions by gathering information about the environment via their sensory systems. Interact with the postsynaptic nerve cell membrane and causes channels to open and initiate another action potential: neurotransmitters are reabsorbed by the presynaptic neuron, action potentials can cause behaviour. Information is important to one species and may differ from another: causes a difference in perceived environment -> umwelt. Infrared in snakes: pit organs on their thorax are sensitive to infrared radiation, vampire bats have the ability to detect infrared wavelengths and the theoretical capability to locate a vein. Infrared information is relayed to and processed by the cns, which provides a complementary visual system to the one the that detects visible light.
