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#sensory receptors

3 public questions tagged with this topic.

Membrane Transportation

Which of the following is a mechanically gated ion channel?

Mechanically gated ion channels convert physical deformation stretch pressure into electrical signals essential for touch hearing proprioception vascular tone and volume control. Stretch-activated cation channels in dorsal root sensory neurons including Piezo1 and Piezo2 giant proteins over thirty transmembrane helices propeller blades and TRP members like TRPV4 contain large curved domains acting as membrane tension sensors coupled to central pore. Increased lateral tension or cytoskeletal pulling flattens protein expanding fenestrations opening pore permeable to Na+ K+ Ca2+ generating receptor potential depolarizing nerve ending triggering action potentials when threshold reached encoding light touch vibration proprioception and painful pressure. In auditory hair cells tip links protocadherin 15 cadherin 23 pull directly open transduction channels upon stereocilia deflection. These channels respond to mechanical deformation rather than voltage change sensed by S4 arginines or chemical ligand binding extracellular domain though lipids pH phosphorylation tune sensitivity. Nicotinic acetylcholine receptor is ligand-gated pentamer neuronal sodium channel Nav1.7 is voltage-gated four domain and GLUT2 is facilitative MFS glucose carrier not ion channel lacking mechanosensitive architecture.

Ref: Ranade et al., Nature 2015: Piezo Proteins as Mechanically-Gated Stretch Channels.

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Animals Nervous System

Olfactory receptors, which detect distinct environmental stimuli, are primarily located in the:

the nervous system is fundamental to how complex animals respond to their environment. This system comprises a vast network of nerve cells or neurons, which are specially adapted to carry messages rapidly throughout the body. Information from the environment is first detected by specialized tips called receptors, located in our sense organs such as the inner ear, nose, tongue, and skin. For instance, gustatory receptors specifically detect taste while olfactory receptors are tuned to detect smell. The signals travel across the neuronal network as electrical impulses. When an impulse reaches the end of an axon, it triggers the release of chemical substances that cross the synapse to start a similar electrical impulse in the dendrite of the next neuron. This precise mechanism allows organisms to react to stimuli. Thus, olfactory receptors are situated in the nose and are responsible for our precise sense of smell.

Ref: NCERT Class 10 Science chapter 6 control and coordination

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Animals Nervous System

Gustatory receptors in the human body are specifically responsible for detecting:

the nervous system is fundamental to how complex animals respond to their environment. This system comprises a vast network of nerve cells or neurons, which are specially adapted to carry messages rapidly throughout the body. Information from the environment is first detected by specialized tips called receptors, located in our sense organs such as the inner ear, nose, tongue, and skin. For instance, gustatory receptors specifically detect taste while olfactory receptors are tuned to detect smell. The signals travel across the neuronal network as electrical impulses. When an impulse reaches the end of an axon, it triggers the release of chemical substances that cross the synapse to start a similar electrical impulse in the dendrite of the next neuron. This precise mechanism allows organisms to react to stimuli. Hence, gustatory receptors are uniquely specialized for detecting taste from the food we consume.

Ref: NCERT Class 10 Science chapter 6 control and coordination

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