PSYA01H3 Chapter 5: Chapter 5 Notes - Part Ten
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When a molecule of an odorous substance fits a receptor molecule located on the cilia of a receptor cell, the cell becomes excited. This excitation is passed on to the brain by the axon of the receptor cell. Humans can recognize up to 10,000 different odourants. A particular odourant binds to more than one receptor; the brain eventually receives signals from several receptors. The task of chemical recognization is thereby transformed into a task of pattern recognization. The somatosenses (body senses) are bodily sensations; sensitivity to such stimuli as touch, pain, and temperature. Entire surface of human body is innervated (supplied with nerve fibres) by the dendrites of neurons that transmit somatosensory information to the brain. All somatosensory information is detected by the dendrites of neurons. Some of these dendrites have specialized endings that modify the way they transduce energy into neural activity.