1

2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
Signal direction Dendrites

Cell
body
Cell body

Axon Signal
pathwa Synaptic knobs
Supporting
cell y
Nucleus

Nodes of
Ranvier
Myelin sheath

Figure 27.3
17
18
 The three interconnected functions of the nervous system are
carried out by three types of neurons

Sensory input

Sensory Integration
neuron
Sensory receptor

Motor neuron Interneuro

n
Motor output

Effector Brain and spinal cord

Peripheral nervous Central nervous

system (PNS) system (CNS) Figure 27.2
 Sensory neurons

– Convey sensory input

 Interneurons
– Perform integration, the interpretation of the sensory
signals

 Motor neurons
– Carry out motor input
 Effectors
– Perform the body’s responses to motor output
21
SENSORY PATHWAYS

• Sensory pathways have four basic functions in

common
– Sensory reception
– Tranduction
– Transmission
– Integration

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.

SENSORY RECEPTION AND TRANSDUCTION
• Sensory reception - detection of stimuli by
sensory receptors
• Sensory receptors interact directly with stimuli,
both inside and outside the body
• Sensory transduction is the conversion of
stimulus energy into a change in the membrane
potential of a sensory receptor
• This change in membrane potential is called a
receptor potential.
 Receptor potentials are graded
potentials; their magnitude varies with the
strength of the stimulus
© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.
24
TRANSMISSION

• After energy has been transduced into a receptor

potential, some sensory cells generate the
transmission of action potentials to the CNS
• Sensory neurons produce action potentials and
their axons extend into the CNS

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.

PERCEPTION
• Perceptions are the brain’s construction of stimuli
• Stimuli from different sensory receptors travel as
action potentials along dedicated neural pathways
• The brain distinguishes stimuli from different
receptors based on the area in the brain where the
action potentials arrive

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.

TYPES OF SENSORY RECEPTORS

• Based on energy transduced, sensory receptors

fall into five categories
– Mechanoreceptors
– Chemoreceptors
– Electromagnetic receptors
– Thermoreceptors
– Pain receptors

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.

MECHANORECEPTORS

• Mechanoreceptors sense physical deformation

caused by stimuli such as pressure, stretch,
motion, and sound
• The knee-jerk response is triggered by the
vertebrate stretch receptor, a mechanoreceptor
that detects muscle movement
• The mammalian sense of touch relies on
mechanoreceptors that are dendrites of sensory
neurons

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.

29
CHEMORECEPTORS

• General chemoreceptors transmit information

about the total solute concentration of a solution
• Specific chemoreceptors respond to individual
kinds of molecules
• When a stimulus molecule binds to a
chemoreceptor, the chemoreceptor becomes
more or less permeable to ions
• The antennae of the male silkworm moth have
very sensitive specific chemoreceptors

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.

Figure 50.6

0.1 mm
ELECTROMAGNETIC RECEPTORS

• Electromagnetic receptors detect

electromagnetic energy such as light, electricity,
and magnetism
• Some snakes have very sensitive infrared
receptors that detect body heat of prey against a
colder background
• Many animals apparently migrate using the Earth’s
magnetic field to orient themselves

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.

Figure 50.7
Eye

Infrared
receptor
(a) Rattlesnake

(b) Beluga whales

THERMORECEPTORS

• Thermoreceptors, which respond to heat or cold,

help regulate body temperature by signaling both
surface and body core temperature
• Mammals have a number of kinds of
thermoreceptors, each specific for a particular
temperature range

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.

PAIN RECEPTORS

• In humans, pain receptors, or nociceptors, are a

class of naked dendrites in the epidermis
• They respond to excess heat, pressure, or
chemicals released from damaged or inflamed
tissues

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.

The Animal Nervous System
And its Role in Animal Behavior

36
For years, people have asked the question,

“Can animals think?”

A study of the nervous system of
agricultural animals leads us to
the study of animal behavior.

37
Vertebrates have many similarities . . .

• Central Nervous
System consisting of
brain and spinal cord.
• Peripheral Nervous
System consisting of
nerves that carry
information to and
from the rest of the Did you know? Protein is vital in
body to the central the development of vertebrate
soft tissues, which includes the
nervous system. nervous system.
38
There are some differences . . .
• The overall size of brains differ, where some
brains are larger than others
• There are noticeable structure differences in
particular places when comparing brains
• In some brains the cerebral cortex is
particularly smooth and in some others there is
lots of cortical folding

39
40
What do these differences mean?
• As brains have evolved,
areas that control senses,
instinct and coordination
have became
predominant.
• In a human brain, the
area dedicated to
thinking (cerebrum)
covers up and dominates
anything else. It also has
folds that increase the
surface area.

41
42
So, can animals think?
This is a very controversial topic!
• Some believe that we tend to only measure
intelligence in terms of human understanding, so
we see animals as lesser when they might have
some areas that are more developed than ours.
• Others believe that animals are acting off a
combination of learned responses and instinct.
• Others see them as having equal intelligence to
humans and fight for their rights.

What do you think?

43
There is no clear answer.

• The area of animal intelligence is

constantly being studied by hundreds of
scientists.

44
45