________ involves the conversion of sensory stimulus energy into neural impulses.
The outer ear involves the pinna (the external shell-shaped structure on the outside of the head), which assists in collecting sound waves; the meatus (the external canal); and the tympanic membrane, also known as the eardrum. The stimulus energy must occur within the receptor's receptive field. The stimulus energy must match the specificity of the receptor. A generator potential in the associated sensory neuron must reach threshold. The stimulus energy must be converted into the energy of a graded potential. called a transduction potential. Sensation and perception although closely related, have distinct qualities that set them apart. Sensation is the stimulation of a sensory receptor which produces neural impulses that the brain interprets as a sound, visual image, odor, taste, pain, etc. Sensation occurs when sensory organs absorb energy from a physical stimulus in the environment. In the somatosensory system the sensory transduction mainly involves the conversion of the mechanical signal such as pressure, skin compression, stretch, vibration to electro-ionic impulses through the process of mechanotransduction. It also includes the sensory transduction related to thermoception and nociception. Here, the energy from the sound wave is transferred from the stapes through the flexible oval window and to the fluid of the cochlea. The vibrations of the oval window create pressure waves in the fluid (perilymph) inside the cochlea. The human ear has three distinct functional regions: the outer ear, which collects sound waves; the middle ear, which represents the sound waves as pressure, and the inner ear, which converts those pressure signals into electrical signals that the brain perceives as sound. Vibrating objects, such as vocal cords, create sound waves or pressure waves in the air. When these pressure waves reach the ear, the ear transduces this mechanical stimulus (pressure wave) into a nerve impulse (electrical signal) that the brain perceives as sound. The pressure waves strike the tympanum, causing it to vibrate. Sensory receptors then convert this energy into neural impulses and send them to the brain. Perception is when the brain organizes the information and translates/interprets it into something meaningful (selective attention) or something that can be made sense of or rationalized by us. Main article: Visual phototransduction. In the visual system, sensory cells called rod and cone cells in the retina convert the physical energy of light signals into electrical impulses that travel to the brain. The light causes a conformational change in a protein called rhodopsin. Sensation doesn't automatically occur; sensory processes must first convert stimulation into neural messages before any other processing can be formed. This process of transferring energy is termed transduction. For example, transduction in your ear occurs in the cochlea. It begins with the detection of stimuli by a sensory neuron, then activating receptors, and finally converting the stimuli into a nerve signal that is processed by the brain.
Transduction potential