Chapter 02

Sensation
Here starts
the lesson!
 01
Type of
Sensation
 Sensation & its types
● Sensation is the first response of the organism to stimulus and
is a step in the direction of perception.
● Sensation is not separate from perception because
● Perception =Sensation +its meaning
● Sensation felt through five sense organs----- eyes, ears, nose,
tongue and skin
● These are called organic senses.
 Stimuli with sense organs
Sense Adequate Stimuli Sense Organs Sensation

Vision Light waves 380 to Eyes Colors, Shapes,

760 nm Textures
Audition Sound waves 20- Ears Tones, Sound
20,000 Hz
Olfaction Chemical molecules Nose Odour, Aroma
or odour molecules
Gustation Soluble chemical Tongue Flavors (sweet, sour,
substances bitter, salty)

Cutaneous External contact Skin Touch, warmth, cold,

pain, & pressure
 Visual Sensation
• Of all the senses, the sensation odf sight is the most urgent
for survival.
• It is at the same time, most precious possession of human
beings.
• Our eyes detect the presence of light in form of
electromagnetic radiation.
• Electromagnetic radiation with wavelength of between 380
to 760 nm is visible
 Visual Sensation
• Sight is the ,most important way of gathering information
about the world.
• The perceived color of light is determined by three different
dimensions:
• Hue or color (visible spectrum)
• Violet----400nm to Red----700nm
 Visual Sensation
• Saturation refers to the relative purity of the light that is
being perceived; the extent to which light contains only one
wavelength, rather than many.
• Brightness (intensity)
If the intensity of the electromagnetic radiation is
increased, the apparent brightness increases, too.
 Visual Sensation
• The human eye is the most complex sense organ.
• Each eye is about 25mm in diameter and weighs about 7
gm.
• In certain respects the eye can be compared with a camera.
• The physical sensation of light from environment are
collected by the visual receptors located in the eye.
 Visual Sensation
• Our eye consist of the following parts:
(i). Socket
• It is the case that lodges the eye. It is oval in shape. This
indeed protects the eye ball from external injuries
and below.
• It is lined with fatty tissues which provide cushion to the
eyeball and allow its free movement.
Visual Sensation
(ii). Eye-lids and Eye lashes
• The eye opens in order to receive the light in.
• Nature has designed the eye lids to protect the eyeball
from any injury and they can covers to the eyeballs.
• At the end of Eye-lids, there are long hairs called
eyelashes.
• The function of eye-lashes is to protect the eyeballs
from the entry of any external material.
Visual Sensation
(iii). The Eyeball:
The eyeball is the oval in shape and hollow in structure.
Its diameter is about an inch.
In the front it transparent.
They eye-ball consist of three layers or coats, such as the
following
• Outer layer
• Middle layer
• Innermost layer
Visual Sensation
(a). Outer layer
• The entire eyeball is covered by two coats.
• The outer layer is called the sclerotic coat.
• The sclerotic coat is hard in texture and whitish in
color.
• It gives protection to the inner structure of the ye and
maintains its shapes.
Visual Sensation
(a). Outer layer
• Cornea
• The eye’s transparent outer coating.
• It is the hard transparent area situated at the front of
the eye that allows the light to pass into the eye.
• It can be seen and touched from outside.
• It does not have blood vessels and so it does no get
the nutrition from blood.
Visual Sensation
(a). Outer layer
• Pupil is an opening in the eye; just behind the cornea,
through which light rays enter the eye.
(b). Middle layer
• It is black in color called choroid.
• It is surrounded with thick dark coating, designed to
absorb the surplus or excessive rays of light which
could otherwise cause blurred or vague vision.
Visual Sensation
(b). Middle layer
The Choroid contains a network of blood vessels which
supply blood to the eye.
• It is continued in front by a muscular curtain called
Iris which supplied blood to the eye.
• Iris is visible through the cornea as it is the colored
portion of the eye.
• Iris adjust the amount of light that enters by
constricting or dilating the pupil.
Visual Sensation
(b). Middle layer
• In the center of the iris, there is hole or opening called the
Pupil, which increase or decrease in size because the Iris is
cable of contraction and expansion.
• Light rays first pass through cornea; transparent protective
structure and then enter the eye through pupil.
• There is transparent Biconvex Lens just behind the pupil.
• It is curved structure behind the pupil that bends light rays ,
focusing them on retina.
Visual Sensation
(b). Middle layer
• It focuses automatically by altering its surfaces or curvatures by
means of contraction and expansion of Ciliary Muscles.
• The space between the lens and the cornea is filled with a clear
watery fluid called Aqueous Humor.
Visual Sensation
(b). Innermost layer
• The Retina is the innermost coat of the eye.
• Retina is the surface at the back of the eye containing
the rods & Cones.
• It receives information about light using Rods &
Cones.
• Rods & Cones are receptor cells for vision.
• Retina has shape of cup that is enclosed by the
transparent jelly-like fluid called the Vitreous Humor.
Visual Sensation
(b). Innermost layer
Rods:
• assist in the vision of dim light because rods’
sensitivity increases with the decrease in the intensity
or strength of light.
• Rods are color blind and works when the object is
colorless.
Visual Sensation
(b). Innermost layer
Cones:
• Cones are visual receptor cells that are important in
daylight and color vision. Cones More highly
developed cells than the rods.
• They provide us with color vision and help us to make
fine discriminations.
• Cones are mostly (approximately 120 million)located
in the central part of the retina, called Fovea, function
best in bright light and color vision.
Visual Sensation
(b). Innermost layer
Vitreous Humor gives shape and firmness to the eye and
keeps the Retina in contact with the two coats-----the
middle coat and the innermost coat.
Blind spot & Fovea
• The optic nerve enters the back of the eye ball. In the
center of this place is a point called blind spot.
• Whenever the light rays fall on this spot, no sensation
of sight takes place.
• This spot is at the back of the retina through which
optic nerve exists the eye.
• The exit point contains no rods or cones and is
therefore insensitive to light.
 Blind spot & Fovea
• At the center of the back of the eyeball, exactly
opposite to the pupil and very near to the bind spot , is
another round spot called the Yellow spot or Fovea.
• Fovea is a tiny spot in the center of the retina that
contains only cones where cones are highly
concentrated.
• Visual activity is best here.
• When you need to focus something, you attempt to
bring the image into fovea.
Process of Vision
Cornea--------Pupil & lens-------
Retina------Optic Nerve--------Occipital lobe.
(cerebral cortex)
Light rays enter the eye through Cornea and pass
through the pupil and the lens then reach the retina.
From the retina, optic nerve carries the impression to the
brain, where it gives rise to sensation of vision or sight.
Optic nerve ----bundle of nerve fibers at the back side of
the which carry visual information to the brain.
Sense of Audition
▪ Audition
▪ the sense of hearing
▪ Frequency
▪ the number of complete wavelengths that
pass a point in a given time
▪ Pitch
▪ a tone’s highness or lowness
▪ depends on frequency
Structure of ear
Structure and function of Ear
(i). Outer ear
(a). Pinna or Auricle
Pinna is the visible part of the ear and direct
sound waves toward the tympanic
membrane.
(b). Ear drum
Eardrum is a thin piece of tissue just inside
the ear, moves ever so slightly in response
to sound waves striking it.
 Structure and function of Ear
(ii). Middle Ear
▪ When ear drum moves, it causes three tiny
bones(the mallus, incus and stapies or Hammer,
Anvil and Stirrup) within the middle ear to vibrate.
The third of these three bone or stapes is attached to
the Ocan window which covers a fluid-filled, spiral-
shaped structure called Cochlea.
▪ The middle ear is an air filled space connected to the
back of the nose by a long, thin tube called the
Eustachian tube. The middle ear space houses three
little bones, the hammer, anvil and stirrup (malleus,
incus and stapes) which conduct sound from the
tympanic membrane to the inner ear. The outer wall
of the middle ear is the tympanic membrane, the
inner wall is the cochlea.
Structure and function of Ear
(ii). Inner Ear
• The inner ear or Cochlea and is spiral-shaped
chamber covered internally by nerve fibers that
react to the vibrations and transmit impulses to the
brain via the auditory nerve.
• The brain combines the input of our two ears to
determine the direction and distance of sounds.
• Hair like receptor cells are contained in the corti
(sensory receptor in the cochlea that transduces
sound waves into coded neural impulses)
• Vibration in cochlea fluid set the basilar membrane
in motion.
• This movement, in turn stimulates the receptor
cells that is contains.
Structure and function of Ear
(ii). Inner Ear
▪ These receptor cells transducers the sound
waves in cochlear fluid into coded neural
impulses that are sent to the brain.
▪ Vibration of oval window causes movements of
the fluid in the cochlea.
▪ Finally, the movement of fluid bends tiny hair
cells, the true sensory receptors of the sound.
▪ The neural messages they (tiny hair cells)
create are then transmitted to the brain via
auditory nerve.
How We Locate Sounds
Process of Hearing
• The pinna and external auditory canal form the
outer ear, which is separated from the middle ear
by the tympanic membrane.
• The middle ear houses three ossicles, the malleus,
incus and stapes and is connected to the back of the
nose by the
Eustachian tube.
• Together they form the sound conducting
mechanism. The inner ear consists of the cochlea
which transduces vibration to a nervous impulse and
the vestibular labyrinth which houses the organ of
balance.