Biological Sensors

UNIT-III
 Nervous Control Input Sense organs pick up
information about the ball
 The body can only work effectively
if all of its parts work in close Sense organs send
cooperation with one another Process
info to the brain
 The internal communication needed Output
which processes
to bring this about is provided by Brain sends info to the muscles to the information
the NERVOUS SYSTEM enable you to move to hit the ball

In humans the nervous system

is composed of 3 parts
1.Brain
2.Spinal Cord
3.Nerves

• The Central Nervous System (CNS) is connected to all parts of the body by nerves, which lead
to and from all organs and systems.
• This arrangement ensures that all parts work together as a coordinated whole, with the brain
having the overall control
 Cell Structure • Many molecules must move back and forth
from inside and outside of the cell
The lipid bilayer (or • Most cannot pass through without the assistance
phospholipid bilayer) of proteins in the membrane bilayer
is a thin • Private passageways for select substances
polar membrane made • Each cell membrane has a specific set of
of two layers of lipid proteins depending on the cell
molecules. • The maintenance of solutes on both sides of the
These membranes are membrane is critical to the cell
flat sheets that form a • Helps to keep the cell from rupturing
Tiny cell structures, continuous barrier • Concentration of ions on either side varies widely
called organelles, carry around all cells. • Na+ and Cl- are higher outside the cell
• K+ is higher inside the cell
out specific functions • Must balance the the number of positive and
within the cell. Similar negative charges, both inside and outside cell
to the way our stomach, • Provided that there is a pathway, molecules move
from a higher to lower concentration
lungs, and heart have • Doesn’t require energy
different functions in our • Passive transport or facilitated diffusion
• Movement against a concentration gradient
body, each organelle has
requires energy (low to high)
a different function • Active transport requires the harnessing of some
within the cell. energy source by the carrier protein
Passive transport across membranes moves down the concentration gradient – Diffusion
• Random motion of molecules causes a net movement of substances from regions of high concentration to regions of
lower concentration, and this movement continues until all regions exhibit the same concentration.
• Each transport protein in the plasma membrane is selectively permeable, and thus only allows certain molecules to
diffuse through.
Facilitated Diffusion
• Facilitated diffusion occurs as molecules move from an area of higher concentration to an area of lower
concentration via specific carriers.
• The essential characteristics of facilitated diffusion are specificity, passivity, and saturation.
Osmosis
• During osmosis, water moves across a membrane toward a solution with a higher solute concentration.
• The direction of net diffusion of water across the membrane is determined by the osmotic concentrations of the
solutions on either side.
Bulk Passage Into and Out of the Cell - Bulk transport utilizes endocytosis.
• Endocytosis occurs when the plasma membrane envelops food particles and brings them into the cell interior. Three
major forms of endocytosis are phagocytosis, pinocytosis, and receptor-mediated endocytosis.
• Exocytosis refers to the discharge of materials from vesicles at the cell surface.
Active transport across membranes requires energy - Active Transport
• Active transport is the movement of a solute across a membrane against its concentration gradient, requiring the use
of protein carriers with the expenditure of ATP.
• Active transport involves highly selective membrane protein carriers.
 Cell’s passive Transport
Cell membrane is a semipermeable lipid bilayer separates
the intracellular part from the extracellular environment.
• Transport of molecules across the membrane (in and out of
cells) is either active or passive.
• Passive transport is moving molecules down the
concentration gradient and no energy is required.
 Diffusion, which moves from high concentration to
low concentration
 Facilitated Diffusion, is the movement of larger
molecules like glucose through the cell membrane –
larger molecules must be “helped” Proteins in the cell
membrane form channels for large molecules to pass
through
 Proteins that form channels (pores) are called protein
channels
 Osmosis, which is the diffusion of water molecules
 Active Transport: is moving molecules against the concentration gradient.
It is the movement of molecules from LOW to HIGH concentration.
 Energy is required as molecules must be pumped against the concentration
gradient and the energy required is powered by a process called phosphorylation,
release of phosphate from ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate).
 Proteins that work as pumps are called protein pumps.
 Ex: Body cells must pump carbon dioxide out into the surrounding blood vessels to
be carried to the lungs for exhale. Blood vessels are high in carbon dioxide
compared to the cells, so energy is required to move the carbon dioxide across the
cell membrane from LOW to HIGH concentration.

outside of cell Carbon Dioxide molecules

inside of cell
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Bioelectric potentials

 Without membrane potentials human life would not be possible.

 All living cells maintain a potential difference across their membrane.
 Simply stated, membrane potential is due to disparities in concentration and permeability of important ions across
a membrane.
 Because of the unequal concentrations of ions across a membrane, the membrane has an electrical charge.
 Changes in membrane potential elicit action potentials and give cells the ability to send messages around the body.
 More specifically, the action potentials are electrical signals; these signals carry efferent messages to the central
nervous system for processing and afferent messages away from the brain to elicit a specific reaction or movement.
 Numerous active transports embedded within the cellular membrane contribute to the creation of membrane
potentials, as well as the universal cellular structure of the lipid bilayer.
 From a physiological standpoint, membrane potential is responsible for sending messages to and from the central
nervous system.
 The Ionic Basis of the Resting Potential
 Cell membranes are typically permeable to only a subset of ionic species like
potassium (K+), Chloride(Cl-) & effectively blocks the entry of sodium(Na+) ions.
The various ions seeks a balance between inside & outside the cell according to
concentration & electric charge.
 Concentration of Na+ ions inside cell is much lower than outside. Hence, outside of
cell becomes more positive than inside.
 In an attempt to to balance electric charge, additional K+ ions enters the cell, causing
higher concentration of K+ ion inside the cell. Charge balance can never be reached.
 Equilibrium is reached with a potential difference across the membrane,
negative on inside and positive on outside called Resting Potential.

Polarized Cell
during RP
• This movement of Na+ ions constitutes an ionic current that
further reduces the barrier of the membrane to Na+
ions.Result-Avalanche effect, Na+ ions rush into the cell to
balance with the ions outside .
• At the same time K+ ions which were in higher concentration
inside the cell during resting state, try to leave the cell but are
unable to move as rapidly as Na+ ions. As a result the cell has
slightly positive potential on inside due to imbalance of K+
ions.(40 mV)
• This process of changing from from resting state to action
potential is called Depolarization. Cell is said to be
depolarized. This potential is called as Action Potential.
• Once the rush of Na+ ions through the cell membrane has
stopped, the membrane reverts back to its original condition
wherein the passage of Na+ ions from outside to inside is
blocked
• This process is called Repolarization.
• The potential change resulting from a stimulus is called the action potential.
• The action potential is the major method of transmission of signals within the body. The stimulation may be
caused by various physical and chemical stimuli such as heat, cold, light, sound, and odours.
• If the stimulation is electrical, only about 20 mV across the membrane is needed to initiate the action potential.
The action potential propagates along the axon Action Potential Propagation
 It “travels” down the axon. Actually, it does not
move. Rather the potential change resulting from
Na+ influx disperses to the next voltage-gated
channel, triggering another action potential there.
 A nerve impulse is self-propagating: That is, an
impulse at any point on the membrane causes an
impulse at the next point along the membrane. We
might compare the flow of an impulse to the fall of
a row of dominoes. As each domino falls, it causes
Charge distribution in the vicinity of the active region of
its neighbour to fall. Then, as the impulse passes,
an unmyelinated fiber conducting an impulse
the dominoes set themselves up again, ready for
another Action Potential.
 Action Potential Propagation
 It “travels” down the axon. Actually, it does not move. Rather the potential change resulting from Na+ influx
disperses to the next voltage-gated channel, triggering another action potential there.
 A nerve impulse is self-propagating: That is, an impulse at any point on the membrane causes an impulse at the next
point along the membrane. We might compare the flow of an impulse to the fall of a row of dominoes. As each
domino falls, it causes its neighbour to fall. Then, as the impulse passes, the dominoes set themselves up again,
ready for another Action Potential.
The primary components of the neuron are the soma (cell body), the Neuron
axon (a long slender projection that conducts electrical impulses away
from the cell body), dendrites (tree like structures that receive
messages from other neurons), and synapses (specialized junctions
between neurons).
 Myelin is a lipid-rich (fatty) substance formed in the central nervous
system (CNS) by glial cells called oligodendrocytes, and in the
peripheral nervous system (PNS) by Schwann cells.
 Myelin insulates nerve cell axons to increase the speed at which information (encoded as an electrical signal) travels
from one nerve cell body to another (as in the CNS) or, for example, from a nerve cell body to a muscle (as in the
PNS).
 The myelinated axon can be likened to an electrical wire (the axon) with insulating material (myelin) around it.
However, unlike the plastic covering on an electrical wire, myelin does not form a single long sheath over the entire
length of the axon.
 Rather, each myelin sheath insulates the axon over a single section and, in general, each axon comprises multiple
long myelinated sections separated from each other by short gaps called Nodes of Ranvier.
 Each myelin sheath is formed by the concentric wrapping of an oligodendrocyte or Schwann cell process around
the axon. Myelin speeds the transmission of electrical impulses called action potentials along myelinated axons by
insulating the axon and reducing axonal membrane capacitance.
 This results in saltatory conduction whereby the action potential "jumps" from one node of Ranvier, over a long
myelinated stretch of the axon called the internode, before "recharging" at the next node of Ranvier, and so on, until
it reaches the axon terminal.
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Special Senses – External Stimuli Sensory Receptor
Types
 Sensation and Perception
 An organism is subjected to many different types of stimuli. Each type of receptor is specialised to respond to only
one type of stimulus – there is no such thing as a “generalised receptor”.
 Since every receptor generates action potentials on stimulation, if each receptor responded to several different types
of stimuli, they would all generate action potentials so there would be no way of discriminating between the
different stimuli (perception).
 Sensory perception is an ability to distinguish, detect, utilize some feelings, and answer to many information that
come to the brain through the reflex arc.
 The reflex arc consists of receptor, afferent nerve pathway , the central nervous system (brain and spine),efferent
pathway and effectors (muscle...)
 Perception is the process by which the brain selects, organizes, and interprets these sensations.
 Information from an environment come to our body and are processed by our 5 senses (Touch, Taste, Smell, Vision,
Hearing). Reaching the body the information are coded in 2 forms: as a local electric response (local electric
potential), and the general action potential (AP)
 Sensation and perception are two separate processes that are very closely related.
 Sensation is input about the physical world obtained by our sensory receptors.
 Senses are the physiological basis of perception. Perception of the same senses may vary from one person to
another because each person’s brain interprets stimuli differently based on that individual’s learning, memory,
emotions, and expectations.
 Flow of Information: Receptors
NOSE Sensitive to chemicals in air
 Your body’s sense organs
contain receptors. TONGUE Sensitive to chemicals in food

EARS Sensitive to sound

 The receptors detect
Sensitive to touch, pressure,
changes in the SKIN temperature & pain
environment called stimuli
EYES Sensitive to light
How does the nervous system work?
Biological
Sensors
Stimulus
Response
Receptor Message Message Effector
via
C.N.S via (muscle or
(sense organ)
nerves nerves gland)
 The central nervous system sorts out information from the senses and sends messages to those muscles which make
the appropriate response
 Functional Organization of the PNS

Central nervous system (CNS) Peripheral nervous system (PNS)

Sensory (afferent) division Motor (efferent) division

Somatic sensory Visceral sensory Somatic nervous Autonomic

General: Touch, pain, General: Stretch, system nervous system
pressure, vibration, pain, temperature, (ANS)
temperature, and chemical changes, Motor innervation of Motor innervation
proprioception in and irritation in all skeletal muscles of smooth muscle,
skin, body wall, and viscera; nausea and cardiac muscle,
limbs hunger and glands
Special: Hearing, Special: Taste, smell
equilibrium, vision
Sympathetic Parasympathetic
division division
Basic Structural Components of the PNS
• Sensory receptors—pick up stimuli from
inside or outside the body
• Nerves and ganglia
• Nerves—bundles of peripheral axons
• Ganglia—clusters of peripheral neuronal
cell bodies
• Motor endings—axon terminals of motor
neurons
• Innervate effectors (muscle fibers and
glands)
Peripheral Sensory Receptors
 Structures that pick up sensory stimuli
• Initiate signals in sensory axons
 Two main categories of sensory receptors
• Free nerve endings of sensory neurons
o Monitor general sensory information
• Complete receptor cells—specialized
epithelial cells or small neurons
o Monitor most types of special sensory
information
Peripheral Sensory Receptors Classification by Location
 Structures that pick up sensory stimuli  Exteroceptors—sensitive to stimuli arising from outside the body
• Initiate signals in sensory axons • Located at or near body surfaces
• Include receptors for touch, pressure, pain, and temperature
 Two main categories of sensory
 Interoceptors—receive stimuli from internal viscera
receptors
• Located in digestive tube, bladder, and lungs
• Free nerve endings of sensory
• Monitor a variety of stimuli
neurons
• Changes in chemical concentration
o Monitor general sensory • Taste stimuli
information • Stretching of tissues
• Complete receptor cells— • Temperature
specialized epithelial cells or small  Proprioceptors
neurons • Located in skeletal muscles, tendons, joints, and ligaments
o Monitor most types of special • Monitor degree of stretch
sensory information • Send inputs on body movement to the CNS
Classification by Stimulus Detected
 Mechanoreceptors—respond to mechanical forces,Touch, pressure, stretch, vibration, and itch
o Baroreceptors monitor blood pressure
 Thermoreceptors—respond to temperature changes
 Chemoreceptors —Respond to chemicals in solution
 Photoreceptors—respond to light, Located in the eye
 Nociceptors —Respond to harmful stimuli that result in pain
Classification by Structure
General sensory receptors are divided into two groups
 Free nerve endings
 Encapsulated nerve endings

Free nerve endings (Unencapsulated)

• Abundant in epithelia and underlying connective
tissue
• Respond to pain and temperature
• Monitor affective senses
• Two specialized types of free nerve endings
o Epithelial tactile complexes (Merkel discs)-
Consist of tactile epithelial cell innervated by
sensory nerve ending. Slowly adapting receptors
for light touch
o Hair follicle receptors—wrap around hair follicles
Rapidly adapting receptors
Encapsulated Nerve Endings
• Consist of one or more end fibers of sensory neurons
• Enclosed in connective tissue
• Mechanoreceptors
• Include four main types
• Tactile (Meissner’s) corpuscles
• Lamellar (Pacinian) corpuscles
• Bulbous corpuscles (Ruffini endings)
• Proprioceptors
Tactile (Meissner’s) corpuscles
 Spiraling nerve ending surrounded by Schwann cells
 Occur in the dermal papillae
 Rapidly adapting receptors for discriminative touch
 Occur in sensitive, hairless areas of the skin
Bulbous corpuscles (Ruffini endings)
 Located in the dermis and respond to pressure
 Monitor continuous pressure on the skin—adapt slowly
Lamellar(Pacinian) Corpuscles
 Single nerve ending surrounded by layers of flattened
Schwann cells
 Occur in the hypodermis
 Sensitive to deep pressure—rapidly adapting receptors
Sensory information is conveyed Sensory Systems
to the CNS and perceived in a
four step process.

Sensation

 Sensory Receptors: are transducers → convert stimuli into graded

potential (receptor potential) and are of various complexity
Main Classes of Sensory Receptors
Perception
 Mechanoreceptors – Pressure, Gravity, Inertia, Sound, Touch, Vibration
 Chemoreceptors – Taste, Smell, Humidity
 Photoreceptors – Light, Heat, Electricity, Magnetism
 Sensory receptors • Transduction
• Each receptor cell monitors a specific • A large enough stimulus changes the
receptive field receptor potential, reaching generator
potential
• Receptor specificity is due to:
• Transduction involves:
• The structure of receptor cell
• A stimulus alerting the permeability of a
• Characteristic of receptor membrane receptor membrane
• The function and structure of accessory • Change in the transmembrane potential of
cells associated with receptor receptor
• The tissue that shields the receptor from • The production of a generator potential
stimuli
• The generation of action potential that can
• The larger the receptor field the more be processed and interpreted by CNS
dificult it would be to discriminate the exact
point of stimuli • CNS interprets information entirely on the
basis of line over which sensory information
arrives.
 The Nature of
Receptors
Receptors are transducers
1.Receptors transduce the
external energy of the
stimulus into the code of
the nerve impulse
2.The application of a
stimulus to a receptor
leads to the formation of a
generator potential, whose
magnitude is determined
by the stimulus intensity
3.If the generator potential
exceeds the Threshold an
Action Potential is
triggered in a sensory
Neuron
 Tactile Pressure Receptors

Skin contains many sensory receptors. Pacinian corpuscles

are the most obvious as they form large (~ 1 mm), onion-like
structures in the dermis and hypodermis. Pacinian corpuscles
contain a myelinated nerve ending in the central core of the
structure. The outer layers are composed of flattened cells,
Ruffini corpuscles: is a slowly adapting collagen fibres and a lymph-like fluid. Pacinian corpuscles are
mechanoreceptor located in the cutaneous sensitive to mechanical and vibratory pressure.
tissue. They are responsible for Meissner's corpuscles: are nerve endings that are responsible for
the sensation of the stretch of your skin, detecting a light touch to the skin and can sense vibrations with
sustained pressure on the skin, and the frequencies as low as 10 Hertz. They are touch receptors located near
perception of heat. the surface of the skin.
 The Pacinian Corpuscle
 Pacinian corpuscles are mechanoreceptors found in skin and certain mucous
membranes
 Skin contains many sensory receptors. Pacinian corpuscles are the most
obvious as they form large (~ 1 mm), onion-like structures, in the dermis
and hypodermis.
 The Pacinian corpuscle consists of a single sensory nerve fibre, the end of
which is enclosed in a multi-layered connective tissue capsule
 Concentric layers of connective tissue separated by a viscous gel surround
the un-myelinated end of the dendron of a sensory neuron enclosed in a
capsule (in section it looks like a section through an onion bulb). Normally
round in section when at rest.
 Pacinian corpuscles are sensitive to mechanical and vibratory pressure. They
respond to pressure, or any kind of mechanical stimulus that causes Structure of a Pacinian corpuscle
deformation of the receptor
 Pacinian corpuscles contain a myelinated nerve ending in the central core of the structure. The outer layers are
composed of flattened cells, collagen fibers and a lymph-like fluid.
 The nerve fibre is myelinated except for the nerve ending, which is within the central core of the Pacinian corpuscle
 No voltage-gated sodium channels are found in the nerve ending, which is sensitive to mechanical compression;
voltage-gated channels are however present at the nodes of Ranvier in the myelinated region of the corpuscle’s
nerve fibre
The Pacinian Corpuscle
 The Electrical Response of Pacinian Corpuscle the applied pressure  depolarisation 
 generator potential  action potentials
• The size of the generator potential is proportional to the amount of
opening of the ion channels, which is proportional to the amount of
deformation, which is proportional to the intensity of the stimulus,
• Hence the size of the generator potential is proportional to the
intensity of the stimulus (called a graded response).
• If the generator potential reaches threshold, it triggers local currents of
sufficient strength to stimulate the opening of voltage-gated sodium ion
channels at the first node of Ranvier of the sensory fibre.
• If the generator potential exceeds the threshold it triggers the
generation of action potentials at the first node
• Nerve impulses are then transmitted along the length of the sensory
neurone to the Central Nervous System (CNS).
• When the pressure stimulus is removed the corpuscle resumes its
normal shape producing another transitory deformation of the receptor
membrane in the process and another brief generator potential, which
will also generate action potentials to indicate the pressure, has been
removed.
• The stronger the stimulus the bigger the generator potential and the number of action potentials generated is
proportional to the size of the generator potential (a frequency coded response).
 Tonic and Phasic Receptors
Two classes of receptors that encode stimulus duration
• Phasic – produce APs only at the beginning or end of the stimulus  encode changes in stimulus, but not
stimulus duration
• Tonic – produce APs as long as the stimulus continues
• Receptor adaptation – AP frequency decreases if stimulus intensity is maintained at the same level
During compression, the
viscous gel between the
concentric lamellae
moves, and allows the
nerve ending to resume
its normal shape
As the pressure is
removed, the whole
corpuscle resumes its
original shape with the
nerve terminal becoming
deformed in the process
No deformation of nerve ending
Compression No generator potential
No action potentials

Deformation of nerve ending

No Compression Generator potential
Action potentials
As the viscous gel flows back to its original position between the
lamellae, the corpuscle returns to its resting, fully uncompressed state
Coding of the Action Potential (Nerve Impulse)

If a microelectrode penetrates the myelinated region of the sensory fibre, a

typical action potential is recorded
Sensory coding for stimulus intensity and duration
 Receptive fields overlap
 Provides redundancy of function if
sensory loss occurs
 Finer localization ability when either
or both neurons are stimulated
 Overlap of receptive fields enhances
spatial detail
 Size of receptive field varies with
functional importance and
innervation density
• Small receptive fields provide
precise spatial information
• Regions such as the fingertips or
fovea that are used most frequently
contain most receptors
 Chemoreception
• Most cells can sense incoming chemical signals
• Animals have many types of chemoreceptors
• Multicellular organisms typically use taste and
smell
• Olfaction – sense of smell
• Detection of chemicals carried in air
• Gustation – sense of taste
• Detection of chemicals emitted from ingested Pain
food • The sense of pain is
• Distinct due to structural criteria another form of
chemoreception.
• Performed by different sense organs
• Injured tissues
• Use different signal transduction mechanisms release chemicals as
• Are processed in different integrating centers a response. These
Flavor chemicals stimulate
free nerve endings in
 What we sense as the “flavor” of food is not taste the skin and the
alone. Smell and taste together create the stimulation is
sensation of “flavor.” perceived as pain.
 This is why things don’t “taste” good when we
have a cold; we lose the sense of “flavor.”
 Can distinguish thousands of odorants The Olfactory System
 Located in the roof of the nasal cavity
 Mucus layer to moisten olfactory epithelium
 Odorant binding proteins – allow lipophilic odorants to dissolve in mucus
 Receptor cells are bipolar neurons and are covered in cilia
 Odorant receptor proteins are located in the cilia
 Odorant Receptors
• Odorant Receptors are G Proteins
• Each olfactory neuron expresses only one odorant receptor protein
• Each odorant receptor can recognize more than one odorant
 Taste Buds in Vertebrates • Taste receptor proteins are found in the microvilli
Group of taste receptor cells: Located on tongue, soft palate, • Chemicals are soluble and diffuse to the bind to
larynx, and esophagus; their receptors
• 50 to 150 taste cells, Life span of 10-14 days • Different cells in the same bud can detect NaCl,
• Epithelial cells that have apical and basal sides and joined sucrose, H+ and quinine (bitter)
by tight junctions • Taste cell forms a chemical synapse with a sensory
• Basal stem cells divide to regenerate taste cells neuron that projects to the brain from the tongue
• Microvilli on its apical surface that project into the
mucus of the tongue
 A generic taste cell.
• Apical surface: both channels and G-protein-coupled
receptors that are activated by chemical stimuli
• Basolateral surface: voltage-gated Na+, K+, and Ca2+
channels, as well as all the machinery for synaptic
transmission mediated by serotonin
• The increase in intracellular Ca2+ is either by the
activation of voltage-gated Ca2+ channels or via the
release from intracellular stores causes synaptic vesicles
to fuse and release their transmitter onto receptors on
primary sensory neurons
• Each cell contains the standard complement of neuronal
proteins including Na+/K+ ATPase at the basal level,
voltage-gated Na+ and Ca2+ channels, leak K+ channel
• The response to the chemical is mediated by the
expression of receptors for that chemical in the microvilli
• The response is a depolarization of the cell sometimes
enough to generate an action potential
• The signaling of the cell to the sensory neuron depends
on a sufficient depolarization to open the voltage-gated
Ca2+ channels necessary for vesicle fusion and
neurotransmitter release.
 Thermoreceptors
 Thermal sensations are associated with stimulation of localized sensory spots in the skin.
 Specific places in the human skin that are selectively sensitive to warm or cool stimuli.
 The specificity of thermoreceptors is quite narrow, in that their nerve endings are excited only, or primarily, by
thermal stimuli.
 However, some thermoreceptors are polymodal, meaning they are capable of responding to both hot and cold
stimuli, as well as to certain chemicals, such as capsaicin and menthol, that initiate sensations similar to hot and
cold.
 Some types of cells, including Merkel cells, which are involved in touch reception, and cells on the tongue that are
involved in taste, also respond to variations in temperature (although not linearly).
 Environmental temperature is perceived in the skin by primary afferents of the somatosensory neurons.
 Somatosensory neurons are intrinsically thermosensitive, i.e. they do not require other tissue components to convert
temperature changes into excitatory ionic current. Naked dendritic endings of sensory neurons are sensitive to
changes in temperature.
 Thermoreceptors are called phasic-type receptors in that they respond very rapidly to minute changes in temperature
but adapt and quit firing as the temperature of the receptor reaches steady state.
 thermoreceptors are divided into low- and high-threshold receptors.
 Contain TRP ion channels that are responsive to hot and cold
 Cold receptors are stimulated by a fall in temp and are inhibited by warming and are located higher in the skin
 Reverse for warm receptors
 Cold receptors are more numerous than warm receptors
 Temp range
• The human being can perceive different
gradations of cold and heat
 From freezing cold to cold to cool
 To indifferent
 To warm to hot to burning hot.
• Three types of sensory receptors:
 Cold receptors
 Warmth receptors
 Pain receptors
Warm receptors
• sensitive to temperatures above 25o C and • Small type A delta Myelinated nerve ending that branches a
unresponsive to temperature above 45oC number of times Tips protrude into the bottom surfaces of basal
• rapidly adapt (sitting in a hot spa) epidermal cells.
Warmth signals are transmitted mainly over • Signals - transmitted from these receptors via type A delta nerves.
Type C nerve fibers • At velocities of about 20 m/sec
Transmission velocities of only 0.4 to 2 m/sec. • Some cold sensations -transmitted in type C nerve fibers
• Intermediate temperatures:
Cold receptors
• The brain interprets sensory input from different combinations of
• sensitive to temperature between 10oC and these receptors as a particular temp sensation
20oC • Pain receptors
• Unresponsive to temperatures below 10oC • respond to temperatures below 10oC (freezing sensation)
• rapidly adapt (swimming in the ocean) • respond to temperatures above 45°C (burning sensation)
 Thermal Receptors
Somas of the neurons are housed in the trigeminal ganglia (TG),
which innervate the head, or dorsal root ganglia (DRG), which
innervate the body.
TG and DRG neurons form specialized, but not exclusive,
functional groups, tuned to detect a particular range of
temperatures.
The molecular basis of temperature detection relies on the ability of
specialized ion channels in the plasma membrane of primary
afferents to initiate and propagate action potentials. Several major
classes of ion channels contribute to this process:
(i) receptor channels, which detect temperature changes and
depolarize neurons via a non-selective cation influx;
(ii) voltage-gated sodium and potassium channels, which open in
response to receptor-mediated depolarization and propagate
action potentials; and
(iii)leak channels, which dynamically regulate the membrane
potential at rest through voltage-independent potassium efflux
(Fig. 1). A combination of the three classes of ion channels is
thought to constitute the core of the mechanism that fine-tunes
neuronal sensitivity to a particular temperature range.
Sensing heat
TRPV1. The capsaicin- and heat-activated non-selective
cation channel TRPV1 exhibits robust temperature activation
above 42°C in heterologous systems and primary neurons.
Sensing cold
TRPM8. The menthol- and cold-activated non-selective
cation channel TRPM8 contributes to the detection of
environmental cold in vivo and in somatosensory neurons.
mammalian TRPM8 exhibits detectable current at around
26°C, which steeply increases further upon cooling
Temperature-gated ion channels contribute to thermal
sensitivity in somatosensory neurons of vertebrates
Transient receptor potential channels (TRPV1, TRPA1,
TRPM8) sense temperature variations and cause neuronal
excitation through sodium and calcium influx.
The voltage-gated sodium channel Nav1.8 contributes to
action potential propagation at noxiously cold temperatures.
The two-pore ‘leak’ channels (TREK-1, TREK-2, TRAAK)
mediate temperature-controlled efflux of potassium, thus
contributing to the electric potential on the plasma membrane
at rest and counterbalancing the excitatory action of the TRPs
during temperature-driven excitation.
 Baroreceptors - Regulation of the Blood Circulation

Touch and Pressure

 Baroreceptors – interoceptors that detect pressure
changes
 Tactile receptors – exteroceptors that detect touch,
pressure, and vibration on the body surface
 Proprioceptors – monitor the position of the body

Baroreceptors
 The aim: to regulate the blood flow of organs to fit
their metabolic requirement in different condition.
Reflex Regulation of the Circulation
 The regulation of blood flow are of three major types:
 Neural  Baroreceptor reflexes
 Humoral  Reflex involving arterial chemoreceptors
 Local  CNS ischemic response
The Baroreceptor system for controlling Arterial Pressure
Baroreceptor areas in Carotid Sinus
Baroreceptors at the bifurcation of
the common carotid arteries
the root of internal carotid artery
shows a little bulge
has stretch receptors in the adventitia
are sensitive to arterial pressure
fluctuations
Afferent nerves travel in the carotid
sinus nerve

Baroreceptor areas
in Aortic Arch Importance of the baroreceptor reflex
Tonic regulation of blood pressure
Baroreceptors keep the arterial pressure relatively
in the adventitia of the arch of aorta constant
Function Pressure buffer system – reduce the blood
 similar to the carotid sinus receptors. pressure fluctuation during the daily
afferent nerve fibers travel in the events, such as changing of the posture,
aortic nerve respiration, excitement, and so on.
 Photoreceptors
• Sight is photoreception.
• Light enters the eye through the cornea and pupil.
• Light is focused by the lens.
• Light strikes the retina, and stimulates receptors.

 Light breaks pigments in the receptor cells, releasing energy

that stimulates neurons connecting to the optic nerve.
 Rod cells detect amount of light, cone cells distinguish
colors. Cone cells require more intense light than rod cells.
 Vision and Light
• Vision (sight) is perception of light emitted or reflected from objects in the environment
• Visible light is electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths from 400 to 750 nm
• Light must cause a photochemical reaction in order to produce a nerve signal our brain can notice
• radiation below 400 nm has so much energy it kills cells
• radiation above 750 nm has too little energy to cause photochemical reaction (it only warms the tissue)
• Begins with the capture of light energy by photoreceptors
• Can be used to determine both the direction and distance of an object
Structure of the Vertebrate Eye
• Sclera: White portion of the eye, formed of
tough connective tissue
• Cornea: Transparent portion through which light
enters; begins to focus light
• Iris: Colored portion of the eye. Contraction of
iris muscles in bright light decreases the size of its
opening, the pupil
• Lens: Transparent structure that completes
focusing of light onto the retina
• Retina: Photoreceptors and optic nerve
 Structure of the Retina
• Series of transparent structures that bend or
refract light rays to focus them on the retina
• cornea is transparent covering of anterior
surface of eyeball
• aqueous humor is clear serous fluid filling area
in front of lens (between lens and cornea)
• lens is suspended by ring of suspensory
ligaments
• capable of changing shape to help focus light
rays
• more rounded when no tension on it
• somewhat flattened normally due to pull of
suspensory ligaments
• vitreous humor is jelly filling the space
between the lens and retina
• The retina consists of three layers of cells
1.External layer contains the rods and cones
• Once photoreceptors are activated, they stimulate bipolar cells,
2.Middle layer contain bipolar cells which in turn stimulate ganglion cells
3.Layer closest to eye cavity contains ganglion
cells • Ganglion cells transmit impulses to brain via optic nerve
 Structure of the Vertebrate Retina
• Vertebrate retina contains two types of
photoreceptors
• Rods: Responsible for black-and-white vision
when illumination is dim
• Cones: Responsible for color vision and high
visual acuity (sharpness). Most are located in the
central region of the retina known as the fovea
• Rods and cones have same basic structure
• Both have inner segment rich in mitochondria and vesicles filled with
neurotransmitter molecules. Mitochondria are rod-shaped organelles that
can be considered the power generators of the cell, converting oxygen and
nutrients into adenosine triphosphate (ATP).
• Connected by narrow stalk to the outer segment
• Packed with hundreds of flattened disks which contain photopigments
• Photopigment in rods is rhodopsin, is a G-protein-coupled receptor.
Photopigments of cones are photopsins, photoreceptor proteins found in the
cone cells of the retina that are the basis of color vision
• Humans have three kinds of cones Each possesses a photopsin consisting
of a cis-retinal bound to a protein with a slightly different amino acid
sequence. These shift the absorption maximum, the region of the
electromagnetic spectrum that the pigment best absorbs.
 Sensory Transduction

• In the dark
• Photoreceptor cells release an
inhibitory neurotransmitter that
hyperpolarizes the bipolar
neurons
• Prevents the bipolar neurons
from releasing excitatory
neurotransmitter to the
ganglion cells that signal to the
brain
• In the presence of light
• Photoreceptor cells stop
releasing their inhibitory
neurotransmitter, in effect,
stimulating bipolar cells
• Bipolar cells in turn stimulate
the ganglion cells, which
transmit action potentials to the
brain
 Biophysics of sound perception
Physical properties of sound:
• Sound - mechanical oscillations of elastic medium, f = 16 - 20 000 Hz.
• It propagates through elastic medium as particle oscillations around equilibrium positions. In a gas or a
liquid, they propagate as longitudinal waves (particles oscillate in direction of wave propagation - it is
alternating compression and rarefaction of medium). In solids, it propagates also as transversal waves (particles
oscillate normally to the direction of wave propagation).
• Speed of sound - phase velocity (c) depends on the physical properties of medium, mainly on the elasticity and
temperature.
• The product ρ.c, where ρ is medium density, is acoustic impedance. It determines the size of acoustic energy
reflection when the sound wave reaches the interface between two media of different acoustic impedance.
• Main Characteristics of Sound:
 Pitch (Tone): is given by frequency.
 Intensity - amount of energy passed in 1second normally through an area of 1 m2. It is the specific acoustic
power [W.m-2].
Intensity level
• The intensity level allows to compare intensities of two sounds.
• Instead of linear relation of the two intensities (interval of 1012) logarithmic relation with the unit bel (B) has been
introduced. In practice: decibel (dB). Intensity level L in dB:
L = 10.log(I/I0) [dB]
• Reference intensity of sound (threshold intensity of 1 kHz tone) I0 = 10-12 W.m-2 (reference acoustic pressure p0 =
2.10-5 Pa).
 Loudness, hearing field
• Loudness is subjectively felt intensity approx. proportional to the Loudness level of some sounds
logarithm of the physical intensity change of sound stimulus. The ear is Sort of sound Loudness level [Ph]
most sensitive for frequencies of 1-5 kHz. The loudness level is expressed Whispering 10 - 20
in phones (Ph). 1 phone corresponds with intensity level of 1 dB for the
reference tone (1 kHz). For the other tones, the loudness level differs from Forest silence 20 - 30
the intensity level. 1 Ph is the smallest difference in loudness, which
can be resolved by ear. For 1 kHz tone, an increase of loudness by 1 Ph Normal speech 40 - 60
needs an increase of physical intensity by 26%.
Traffic noise 60 - 90
• The field of intensity levels between hearing threshold, the zero
loudness line (zero isophone) and pain threshold, intensity at which the Pneumatic drill 100 - 110
hearing sensation changes in pain, in the frequency range of 16 - 20 000
Hz is the Hearing field. Jet propulsion 120 - 130

• The frequency at which parts of the ear vibrate give us sense of pitch (high or low pitched sounds)
 hearing range is 20 - 20,000 Hz (cycles/sec)
 speech is within 1500-4000 where hearing is most sensitive
• Loudness is perception of intensity of sound energy, how much the air molecules are compressed in decibels (dB) /
phones(Ph)
 Sound Reception
 Acoustic energy, in the form of sound waves, is channeled
into the ear canal by the pinna (outer ear)
 The human pinna colours high frequency sounds by
interference between the echoes reflected off its different
structures (like the colours of light produced by reflection
from an oil slick). Only frequencies that have a wavelength
comparable to the dimensions of the pinna are influenced
by it (> 3kHz). Different high frequencies are amplified
by different amounts depending on the direction of the
sound in the vertical plane. The brain interprets these
changes as direction.
 The meatus is the tube that links the pinna to the eardrum.
It resonates at around 2kHz so that frequencies in that
region are transmitted more efficiently to the cochlea than
others. This frequency region is particularly important in
speech.
 Sound waves hit the tympanic membrane and cause it to
vibrate, like a drum, changing it into mechanical energy
 The malleus, which is attached to the tympanic membrane,
causing movement of three small bones (ossicles) in the
middle ear. (Malleus (hammer), incus (anvil), and stapes)
 The stapes moves in and out of the Anatomy of the Inner Ear
oval window of the cochlea creating
a fluid motion.
 Perilymph - ionic composition like
liquor, but it has 2x more proteins.
Endolyph - protein content like
liquor, but only 1/10 of Na+ ions and
30x more K+ ions - like intracellular
liquid.
 Within the cochlea, the fluid
movement causes membranes in the
Organ of Corti to shear against the
hair cells. Hair cells on the basilar
membrane vibrate to certain
frequencies.
 6. This creates an electrical signal
which is sent up the Auditory Nerve
to the brain
 The brain interprets it as sound!
 The threshold of hearing Flexoelectric Effect
 At a threshold of 3000 Hz (the frequency to which we are  Quiet sounds are magnified by bundles of tiny, hair-
most sensitive – important for speech) the eardrum like tubes atop "hair cells" in the ear (stereocilia:
displacement is about one tenth of the diameter of a when the tubes dance back and forth, they act as
single hydrogen atom. "flexoelectric motors" that amplify sound
mechanically.
 In a very quiet setting, blood can actually be heard
flowing through the vessels near the ear. If ears were  "It's like a car's power steering system. "
much more sensitive, we would be hearing noise – " You turn the wheel and mechanical power is
generated by air molecules colliding with the eardrum. added. Here, the incoming sound is like your hand
turning the wheel, but to drive, you need to add
 A threshold vibration deflects auditory receptors in an
power to it. These hair bundles add power to the
inner ear (stereocilia) through an angle of only about
sound. If you did not have this mechanism, you
0.003 degree. Bending the Empire State Building through
such an angle would deflect its top by less than 2.5 cm. would need a powerful hearing aid.“

 From this threshold we can hear over a 10 million–fold – http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/14708

range of sound pressure levels before sounds become
1.php
painfully loud. Because it is cumbersome to keep track of
all the zeros in such large numbers, a logarithmic decibel
scale was introduced.
 The cellular basis of hearing
 A crucial event in the hearing process is the
transduction of mechanical stimuli into
electrical signals by hair cells, the sensory
receptor.
 The hair cell carries out this task, making use
of a variety of mechanical, hydrodynamic,
and electrical strategies to measure signals
with great sensitivity and remarkable
frequency discrimination.
 Stereocilia of hair cells attached to gelatinous
tectorial membrane.
 Cochlea contains basilar membrane, which
separates two liquid-filled tubes. Basilar
membrane is narrow at the base and widens
at the tip. Different frequencies are coded by
the position along the membrane – high
frequencies displace the membrane at the
base, low frequencies displace the membrane
at the apex.
 Hearing comes from inner hair cells -- outer
ones adjust cochlear responses to different
frequencies increasing precision.
 The cellular basis of hearing
 Békésy theory of travelling wave: Sound brings the basilar membrane into oscillations, and the region of maximum
oscillation shifts with increasing frequency from the top to the basis of cochlea.
 The receptor system in cochlea performs probably a preliminary frequency analysis. The further processing is done
in cerebral auditory centres.
 Sound comes to the receptors in three ways: air (main), bone (the hearing threshold is by about 40 dB higher)
and through circular foramen – small importance.
 Sensory cells of Corti's organ: hair-cells (inner and outer). In cochlea there are about 4000 inner and about
20000 outer hair-cells. Outer hair cells amplify mechanical input to inner hair cells and Inner hair cells send
information to the brain.
 sensory hairs (cilia) - stereocilia, deformed by tectorial membrane.
Bending of hairs towards lamina spiralis leads to depolarisation, bending
away lamina spiralis causes hyperpolarisation.
 About 95% neurons begin on inner cells (20 axons on one inner cell), about
5% neurons begin on outer cells - nerve-endings of 10 outer cells are
connected in 1 axon. There are about 25 - 30 000 axons in auditory nerve.
 Perilymph and endolymph differ in content of K+ and Na+. Endolymph
content of K+ is near to the intracellular content. The resting potential
between endolymph and perilymph equals + 80 mV - endocochlear
potential. The potential difference between the endolymph and hair-
cells is about 160 mV.
 Stereocilia bathed in high K+ concentration creating electrochemical
gradient from tip to base
 Stereocilia of OHCs have tip embedded in tectorial membrane which is
anchored.
 Movement of basilar membrane bends stereocilia. Bending pulls on tip
links and opens ion channels K+ flows in -- depolarizing it & causing
release of neurotransmitter stimulating sensory dendrites at its base.
 The mechanism of the origin of final action potential led by auditory nerve is not yet fully explained. We suppose:
The cochlear microphone potential and also the negative summation potential take place directly in action potential
origin. This potential keeps the receptors in functional state.
Summary http://www.bmb.leeds.ac.uk/illingworth/bioc3800/index.htm
Sensors monitoring the external environment often:
• are very fast
• are very sensitive
• adapt to ongoing stimuli
• have a huge dynamic range
• incorporate local feedback loops
• report changes rather than the steady state
• select and filter information from the beginning of the pathway
• convert from analog signals to faster, low-noise digital encoding at an early stage of the transduction pathway
Sensors monitoring the internal environment usually:
 have more time
 require less sensitivity
 respond in a narrow physiological range
 show less adaptation towards ongoing situations
 often form part of "whole body" negative feedback systems
 have less need to filter the raw information to remove unwanted noise
 are more likely to include slower analog systems rather than faster digital signalling components
You should now be able to:
1. Distinguish between the following pairs of terms: sensation and perception; sensory transduction and receptor
potential; tastants and odorants; rod and cone cells.
2. List the five categories of sensory receptors and explain the energy transduced by each type.
3. Explain the role of mechanoreceptors in hearing and balance.
4. Give the function of each structure using a diagram of the human ear.

True or false
1. The pacinian corpuscle is a receptor
2. The pacinian corpuscle is found in the skin
3. The pacinian corpuscle is stimulated by heat
4. The pacinian corpuscle is a mechano-receptor
5. The pacinian corpuscle creates an action potential using calcium ions
6. The pacinian corpuscle contains stretch-mediated ion channels
7. The pacinian corpuscle will fire no matter how much pressure is puton it
8. A potential difference in the corpuscle is called a generator potential
9. The generator potential is not related to the strength of the stimulus
10. The more the corpuscle is stimulated the more impulses you get in the axon