Chapter 5

The Sensory Systems

Sensory systems convert physical stimuli (energy) into neural signals called information by nerves
system. The nervous system is divided into two major regions: the central and peripheral nervous
systems. The central nervous system (CNS) is composed of the brain and spinal cord, and the
peripheral nervous system (PNS) is composed of ganglia (structures containing neurons outside
of the CNS) and nerves (bundles of axons from CNS and PNS neurons). The brain is contained
within the cranial cavity of the skull, and the spinal cord is contained within the vertebral
cavity of the vertebral column. The peripheral nervous system is so named because it is on the
periphery—meaning beyond the brain and spinal cord.

Structural Divisions of the Nervous System.

The structures of the Central Nervous System (CNS) are the brain and spinal cord, located
medially within the body. The brain is superior to the spinal cord. The structures of the
Peripheral Nervous System (PNS) are ganglia and nerves.
Nerves can be divided into cranial if they originate from the brain and spinal if they originate
from the spinal cord. Spinal nerves originate laterally from the spinal cord. Ganglia are enlarged
regions of the nerves that house neurons and glial cells within the PNS.

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Organization of the Nervous Tissue
Nervous tissue contains two basic types of cells: neurons and glial cells. A glial cell is one of a
variety of cells that provide a framework of tissue that supports the neurons and their activities.
The neuron is the more functionally important of the two, in terms of the communicative
function of the nervous system. Neurons are specilised cells in the nervous system that transmits
information using electrical and chemical signals. Itis the basic working units of the brain and
thespinal cord. It have a soma, or cell body that contains the nucleus, they also have extensions
of the cell; each extension is generally referred to as a process.
There is one important part that every neuron has called an axon, which is the fiber that connects
a neuron with its target. Axons are partially insulated by a lipid-rich substance called myelin.
Another part that branches off from the soma is the dendrite. Dendrites are responsible for
receiving most of the input from other neurons.

Membrane potentials
The electrical state of the cell membrane can have several variations in the membrane potential.
A potential is a distribution of charge across the cell membrane, measured in millivolts (mV).
We compare the inside of the cell relative to the outside, so the membrane potential is a value
representing the charge on the intracellular side of the membrane based on the outside being
zero. Neurons harvest this membrane potential to generate and propagate a nerve impulse

The cable equation for electrical signal propagation in neuron

Consider a small segment of an axon of length ∂x, membrane resistance Rm , Membrane capacitor

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Cm

1 ∂V ∂V ∂ 2V V
From Ohm’s law, Ix = − we get the cable equation as =D 2 −
Ri ∂x ∂t ∂x τ
∂V ∂ 2V V
Where is how voltage change with time, D 2 spread of signal along neuron, and − decay
∂t ∂x τ
or leakage of signal. This is why signals weaken unless actively regenerated (action potenial)
For steady state,
∂V
=0
∂t
∂ 2V V
2
=
∂x Dτ
−x
Vx = V0 e λ
From an information theory perspective (based on Claude Shannon). The potentials propagate
a nerve impulse as; Stimulus = Input signal , Receptor = Transducer, Nervous system =
Communication channel, and Brain = Decoder
This is done through some steps in information processing via the sensory systems;
Step 1: Stimulus Detection. Physical energy detected (light, sound, pressure, chemicals)
Step 2: Transduction. Conversion into electrical signals (receptor potentials)
Step 3: Encoding. Information encoded as frequency of action potentials
Step 4: Transmission. Signals travel via neurons
Step 5: Processing & Interpretation. Brain decodes meaning

Each sensory system uses a specilized receptors to detect a specific type of stimuli and they
convert stimuli into electrical signal. The signal travels to the brain where they are intepreted
creating our perception and guiding our action

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Quantitative aspects of information transmission
Sensory systems detect environmental stimuli and convert them into neural signals that the brain
interprets. Quantifying how much information is transmitted through these systems is essential
for understanding sensory processing efficiency and limitations.

Basic Concepts from Information Theory

1 Information and Entropy
Information measures the reduction of uncertainty about a stimulus after observing a neural
response. Entropy (H) quantifies the uncertainty or variability in a random variable (e.g.,
stimulus or response).
For a discrete random variable X with possible outcomes xi , and probabilities p(xi )
P
H(X) = − i p(xi ) log2 p(xi )
Entropy is measured in bits. Higher entropy means more uncertainty or variability.

2 Mutual Information (I)

Measures the amount of information shared between stimulus S and response R. Defined as:
I(S/R) = H(S) − H(S/R)
Where: H(S)= entropy of the stimulus, H(S/R) = conditional entropy of the stimulus given the
response (uncertainty remaining after observing response). Mutual information quantifies how
well the response predicts the stimulus.

Quantitative Measures of Information Transmission

1 Information Rate
The information rate is the mutual information per unit time, often expressed in bits per second.

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Calculated by analyzing the joint probability distributions of stimuli and responses over time.
H
R = , where R is the information rate, H= Total information in bits T= Time in seconds
T

2 Noise and Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR)

Sensory systems are noisy; noise reduces the fidelity of information transmission. The signal-to-
noise ratio (SNR) affects the maximum information rate. Shannon’s channel capacity theorem
relates SNR to maximum information transmission rate as:
C = B log2 (1 + SN R) Where: C = channel capacity (bits/s), B = bandwidth (Hz)

Trials
1.) If a sensory stimulus S can take four discrete states with probabilities, p(si ) = 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4.
Calculate the entropy H(S)

2.) Given a sensory neuron fires spikes with a bandwidth B=1000 Hz and signal to-noise ratio
SNR =10. Using Shannon’s formula calculate the channel capacity

3.) The sensory response R take two states r1 , r2 . The joint probabilities p(si , rj ) are: r1 =
0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.5 and ,r2 = 0.08, 0.15, 0.22, 0.8, 0.48
Calculate entropy of response H(R)
Calculate conditional entropy H(S/R)
Find the Mutual information:

Sensory receptors
Sensory receptors are biological transducers that convert different forms of energy (mechanical,
chemical, thermal, light) into nerve impulses. These impulses are then transmitted to the central
nervous system (CNS) for processing, enabling perception of the environment.

Types of Sensory Receptors

Sensory receptors are classified based on the type of stimulus they detect:
Mechanism of Action
When a sensory receptor is stimulated, it undergoes a change in membrane potential called a
receptor potential. If the receptor potential reaches a threshold, it triggers an action potential

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in the associated sensory neuron. This action potential travels along sensory pathways to the
CNS, where it is interpreted as a specific sensation.

Sensory Mechanisms - Eye

Vision is the ability to detect light patterns from the outside environment and interpret them
into images. The importance of vision to humans is further substantiated by the fact that
about one-third of the human cerebral cortex is dedicated to analyzing and perceiving visual
information.
Light is composed of electromagnetic waves and needs no medium; light can travel in a vacuum.
A glance at the electromagnetic spectrum shows that visible light for humans is just a small slice
of the entire spectrum, which includes radiation that we cannot see as light because it is below
the frequency of visible red light and above the frequency of visible violet light.

Certain variables are important when discussing perception of light. Wavelength (which varies
inversely with frequency). Light at the red end of the visible spectrum has longer wavelengths
(and is lower frequency), while light at the violet end has shorter wavelengths (and is higher
frequency). The wavelength of light is expressed in nanometers (nm). Humans perceive light that
ranges between approximately 380nm and 740nm. Some other animals, can detect wavelengths
outside of the human range. For example, bees see near-ultraviolet light in order to locate nectar
guides on flowers, and some non-avian reptiles sense infrared light (heat that prey gives off).

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Light waves travel 299,792 km per second in a vacuum, (slower in various media such as air
and water), and those waves arrive at the eye as long (red), medium (green), and short (blue)
waves. The apparent color of an object is the color (or colors) that the object reflects. Thus a
red object reflects the red wavelengths in mixed (white) light and absorbs all other wavelengths
of light.

Anatomy of the eye

The photoreceptive cells of the eye, where transduction of light to nervous impulses occurs, are
located in the retina on the inner surface of the back of the eye. But light does not impinge on
the retina unaltered. It passes through other layers that process it so that it can be interpreted
by the retina. The cornea, the front transparent layer of the eye, and the crystalline lens, a
transparent convex structure behind the cornea, both refract (bend) light to focus the image on
the retina. The iris, is a circular muscular ring lying between the lens and cornea that regulates
the amount of light entering the eye. In conditions of high ambient light, the iris contracts,
reducing the size of the pupil at its center. In conditions of low light, the iris relaxes and the
pupil enlarges.
There are two types of photoreceptors in the retina: rods and cones. Rods are strongly
photosensitive and are located in the outer edges of the retina. They detect dim light and
are used primarily for peripheral and nighttime vision. Cones are weakly photosensitive and are
located near the center of the retina. They respond to bright light, and their primary role is in
daytime, color vision.

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Optical Properties and Refraction
Refraction is the bending of light as it passes through media of different refractive indices. The
refractive indices of the eye’s components: Cornea: 1.376, Aqueous humor: 1.336, Lens: 1.386
(variable with accommodation), Vitreous humor: 1.336. The total refractive power of the eye
is approximately 60 diopters (D), with the cornea contributing about 43 D and the lens about
17 D.
The eye forms a real, inverted, and reduced image on the retina. The focal length (f) of the
eye’s optical system is about 17 mm. The accommodation process adjusts the lens curvature to
focus objects at different distances by changing the focal length.

Optical Defects and Anomalies of the Eye

Optical defects occur when the eye’s optical system fails to focus light correctly on the retina,

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causing blurred or distorted vision.

1 Myopia (Nearsightedness)

2 Hyperopia (Farsightedness)

3 Astigmatism
Cause: Irregular curvature of the cornea or lens. Effect: Light rays focus at multiple points,
causing distorted or blurred vision. Symptoms: Blurred or distorted vision at all distances.
Correction: Cylindrical lenses that compensate for the uneven curvature.

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4 Presbyopia
Cause: Age-related loss of lens elasticity.
Effect: Reduced accommodation ability; difficulty focusing on near objects.
Symptoms: Need to hold reading material farther away.
Correction: Bifocal or progressive lenses.
5 Cataract
Cause: Clouding of the lens due to protein aggregation.
Effect: Scattering of light, reduced transparency.
Symptoms: Blurred vision, glare, reduced color perception.
Correction: Surgical removal of the cloudy lens and replacement with an artificial intraocular
lens.
6 Other Anomalies
Color blindness: Deficiency or absence of cone photoreceptors sensitive to certain wavelengths.
Night blindness: Impaired rod function affecting vision in low light.
Glaucoma: Increased intraocular pressure damaging the optic nerve (not optical defect but
affects vision).

Sensory Mechanisms - Ear

Audition, or hearing, is important to humans and to other animals for many different
interactions. It enables an organism to detect and receive information about danger, such
as an approaching predator, and to participate in communal exchanges like those concerning
territories or mating. On the other hand, although it is physically linked to the auditory system,
the vestibular system is not involved in hearing. Instead, an animal’s vestibular system detects
its own movement, both linear and angular acceleration and deceleration, and balance.

Auditory stimuli are sound waves, which are mechanical, pressure waves that move through a
medium, such as air or water. There are no sound waves in a vacuum since there are no air
molecules to move in waves. The speed of sound waves differs, based on altitude, temperature,
and medium, but at sea level and a temperature of 20o C (68o F), sound waves travel in air at
about 343 meters per second. As is true for all waves, there are four main characteristics of a
sound wave: frequency, wavelength, period, and amplitude. Frequency is the number of waves

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per unit of time, and in sound is heard as pitch. High-frequency (≥15000Hz) sounds are higher-
pitched.
Frequency is measured in cycles per second, and for sound, the most commonly used unit is
hertz (Hz), or cycles per second. Humans can perceive sounds with frequencies between 20 and
20KHz.
Women are typically better at hearing high frequencies, but everyone’s ability to hear high
frequencies decreases with age. Dogs detect up to about 40,000 Hz; cats, 60,000 Hz; bats,
100,000 Hz; and dolphins 150,000 Hz, a fish, can hear 180,000 Hz. Those frequencies above the
human range are called ultrasound.

Amplitude, or the dimension of a wave from peak to trough, in sound is heard as volume. The
sound waves of louder sounds have greater amplitude than those of softer sounds. For sound,
volume is measured in decibels (dB). Humans speak normally at 60 decibels.

Reception of sound
In mammals, sound waves are collected by the external, cartilaginous part of the ear called
the pinna, then travel through the auditory canal and cause vibration of the thin diaphragm
called the ear drum, the innermost part of the outer ear. Interior to the ear drum is the middle
ear. The middle ear holds three small bones called the ossicles, which transfer energy from the
moving ear drum to the inner ear. The three ossicles are known as the hammer, the incus (the
anvil), and stapes (the stirrup). The three ossicles are unique to mammals, and each plays a
role in hearing. The malleus attaches at three points to the interior surface of the tympanic
membrane. The incus attaches the malleus to the stapes. These bones also function to collect
force and amplify sounds.

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Sound travels through the outer ear to the middle ear, which is bounded on its exterior by the
tympanic membrane. The middle ear contains three bones called ossicles that transfer the sound
wave to the oval window, the exterior boundary of the inner ear. The organ of Corti, which is
the organ of sound transduction, lies inside the cochlea.

Transduction of 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. The mechanical energy from the moving tympanum
transmits the vibrations to the three bones of the middle ear. The stapes transmits the vibrations
to a thin diaphragm called the oval window, which is the outermost structure of the inner ear.
In the human ear, sound waves cause the stapes to press against the oval window. Different
thicknesses of membrane vibrate in response to different frequencies of sound. Sound waves then
exit through the round window. In the cross section of the cochlea (top right figure), note that
in addition to the upper canal and lower canal, the cochlea also has a middle canal. The organ of
Corti (bottom image) is the site of sound transduction. The site of transduction is in the organ

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of Corti (spiral organ). It is composed of hair cells held in place above the basilar membrane.
The inner hair cells are the primary auditory receptors and exist in a single row, numbering
approximately 3,500.

Sound Intensity
Sound intensity (I) is the power (energy per unit time) transmitted by a sound wave per unit
area perpendicular to the direction of wave propagation. It is measured in watts per square
meter (W m−2 )
P
I=
A
Where: I = intensity, P = power of the sound wave (W), and A = area through which the sound
energy passes.
Since human hearing spans a wide range of intensities, sound intensity is often expressed in
decibels (dB),
a logarithmic scale.
I
β = 10 log10
I0
Where: β = sound intensity level in decibels (dB), I = intensity of the sound wave, and I0 = 10−12
(threshold of human hearing) which is about 120dB. Normal conversation: 60dB

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Sound Sources and Detectors
Mechanical Vibrators: Objects that vibrate to produce sound waves (e.g., tuning forks, vocal
cords).
Loudspeakers: Convert electrical signals into mechanical vibrations producing sound.
Natural Sources: Human voice, musical instruments, animals.

Sound Detectors
Human Ear: Outer ear collects sound and converts sound waves into nerve impulses.
Middle ear amplifies vibrations.
Inner ear (cochlea) transduces mechanical vibrations into electrical signals. Microphones:
Convert sound waves into electrical signals.
Dynamic microphones use electromagnetic induction.
Condenser microphones use capacitance changes.
Ultrasound Transducers: Emit and detect high-frequency sound waves for imaging.

Ultrasound
Ultrasound refers to sound waves with frequencies above 20 kHz, beyond human hearing. Itis
use in the following areas;
Diagnostic Imaging (Sonography): Uses reflected ultrasound waves to create images of internal
organs, fetuses, and tissues.
Doppler Ultrasound: Measures blood flow velocity by detecting frequency shifts.
Therapeutic Ultrasound: Used for physiotherapy to promote tissue healing and reduce
inflammation.
Non-destructive Testing: Detects flaws in materials by analyzing reflected ultrasound waves.
Cleaning: Ultrasound waves create cavitation bubbles that clean delicate objects.
Ultrasound can cause heating and mechanical effects in tissues; safety guidelines regulate
exposure.

Read about Sound Pollution (Noise Pollution)

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