Sensory neuron

Updated on Dec 23, 2023

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Sensory neurons also known as afferent neurons are neurons that convert a specific type of stimulus, via their receptors, into action potentials or graded potentials. This process is called sensory transduction. The cell bodies of the sensory neurons are located in the dorsal ganglia of the spinal cord.

This sensory information travels along afferent nerve fibers in an afferent or sensory nerve, to the brain via the spinal cord. The stimulus can come from outside the body, for example light and sound, or from inside the body, for example blood pressure or the sense of body position.

Different types of sensory neurons have different sensory receptors that respond to different kinds of stimuli.

Smell

The sensory neurons involved in smell are called olfactory receptor neurons. These receptor neurons contain receptors, called olfactory receptors, that are activated by the odor molecules in the air. The perception of these odor molecules is called a scent.

Taste

Similarly to olfactory receptor neurons, taste receptors (gustatory receptors) in taste buds interact with chemicals in food to produce an action potential.

Vision

Photoreceptor cells are capable of phototransduction, a process which converts light (electromagnetic radiation) into electrical signals. These signals are refined and controlled by the interactions with other types of neurons in the retina.

The five basic classes of neurons within the retina are photoreceptor cells, bipolar cells, ganglion cells, horizontal cells, and amacrine cells.

The basic circuitry of the retina incorporates a three-neuron chain consisting of the photoreceptor (either a rod or cone), bipolar cell, and the ganglion cell.

The first action potential occurs in the retinal ganglion cell. This pathway is the most direct way for transmitting visual information to the brain.

There are three primary types of photoreceptors: Cones are photoreceptors that respond significantly to color. In humans the three different types of cones correspond with a primary response to short wavelength (blue), medium wavelength (green), and long wavelength (yellow/red). Rods are photoreceptors that are very sensitive to the intensity of light, allowing for vision in dim lighting. The concentrations and ratio of rods to cones is strongly correlated with whether an animal is diurnal or nocturnal. In humans, rods outnumber cones by approximately 20:1, while in nocturnal animals, such as the tawny owl, the ratio is closer to 1000:1. Retinal ganglion cells are involved in the sympathetic response. Of the ~1.3 million ganglion cells present in the retina, 1-2% are believed to be photosensitive.

Problems and decay of sensory neurons associated with vision lead to disorders such as:

Macular degeneration – degeneration of the central visual field due to either cellular debris or blood vessels accumulating between the retina and the choroid, thereby disturbing and/or destroying the complex interplay of neurons that are present there.

Glaucoma – loss of retinal ganglion cells which causes some loss of vision to blindness.

Diabetic retinopathy – poor blood sugar control due to diabetes damages the tiny blood vessels in the retina.

Auditory

The auditory system is responsible for converting pressure waves generated by vibrating air molecules or sound into signals that can be interpreted by the brain.

This mechanoelectrical transduction is mediated with hair cells within the ear. Depending on the movement, the hair cell can either hyperpolarize or depolarize. When the movement is towards the tallest stereocilia, the K⁺ cation channels open allowing K⁺ to flow into cell and the resulting depolarization causes the Ca⁺⁺ channels to open, thus releasing its neurotransmitter into the afferent auditory nerve. There are two types of hair cells: inner and outer. The inner hair cells are the sensory receptors .

Problems with sensory neurons associated with the auditory system leads to disorders such as:

Auditory processing disorder – Auditory information in the brain is processed in an abnormal way. Patients with auditory processing disorder can usually gain the information normally, but their brain cannot process it properly, leading to hearing disability.

Auditory verbal agnosia – Comprehension of speech is lost but hearing, speaking, reading, and writing ability is retained. This is caused by damage to the posterior superior temporal lobes, again not allowing the brain to process auditory input correctly.

Temperature

Thermoreceptors are sensory receptors, which respond to varying temperatures. While the mechanisms through which these receptors operate is unclear, recent discoveries have shown that mammals have at least two distinct types of thermoreceptors. The bulboid corpuscle, is a cutaneous receptor a cold-sensitive receptor, that detects cold temperatures. The other type is a warmth-sensitive receptor.

Somatosensory system

The somatic sensory system includes the sensations of touch, pressure, vibration, limb position, heat, cold, and pain.

The cell bodies of somatic sensory afferent fibers lie in ganglia throughout the spine. These neurons are responsible for relaying information about the body to the central nervous system. Neurons residing in ganglia of the head and body supply the central nervous system with information about the aforementioned external stimuli occurring to the body. Pseudounipolar cell bodies are located in the dorsal root ganglia.

Mechanoreceptors

Mechanoreceptors are sensory receptors which respond to mechanical forces, such as pressure or distortion.

Specialized sensory receptor cells called mechanoreceptors often encapsulate afferent fibers to help tune the afferent fibers to the different types of somatic stimulation. Mechanoreceptors also help lower thresholds for action potential generation in afferent fibers and thus make them more likely to fire in the presence of sensory stimulation.

Some types of mechanoreceptors fire action potentials when their membranes are physically stretched.

Proprioceptors are another type of mechanoreceptors which literally means "receptors for self". These receptors provide spatial information about limbs and other body parts.

Nociceptors are responsible for processing pain and temperature changes. The burning pain and irritation experienced after eating a chili pepper (due to its main ingredient, capsaicin), the cold sensation experienced after ingesting a chemical such as menthol or icillin, as well as the common sensation of pain are all a result of neurons with these receptors.

Problems with mechanoreceptors lead to disorders such as:

Neuropathic pain - a severe pain condition resulting from a damaged sensory nerve

Hyperalgesia - an increased sensitivity to pain caused by sensory ion channel, TRPM8, which is typically responds to temperatures between 23 and 26 degrees, and provides the cooling sensation associated with menthol and icillin

Phantom limb syndrome - a sensory system disorder where pain or movement is experienced in a limb that does not exist

Internal

Internal receptors that respond to changes inside the body are known as interoceptors.

Blood

The aortic bodies and carotid bodies contain clusters of glomus cells – peripheral chemoreceptors that detect changes in chemical properties in the blood such as oxygen concentration. These receptors are polymodal responding to a number of different stimuli.

Nociceptors

Nociceptors respond to potentially damaging stimuli by sending signals to the spinal cord and brain. This process, called nociception, usually causes the perception of pain. They are found in internal organs as well as on the surface of the body. Nociceptors detect different kinds of damaging stimuli or actual damage. Those that only respond when tissues are damaged are known as "sleeping" or "silent" nociceptors.

Thermal nociceptors are activated by noxious heat or cold at various temperatures.

Mechanical nociceptors respond to excess pressure or mechanical deformation.

Chemical nociceptors respond to a wide variety of chemicals, some of which are signs of tissue damage. They are involved in the detection of some spices in food.

Connection with the central nervous system

Information coming from the sensory neurons in the head enters the central nervous system (CNS) through cranial nerves. Information from the sensory neurons below the head enters the spinal cord and passes towards the brain through the 31 spinal nerves. The sensory information traveling through the spinal cord follows well-defined pathways. The nervous system codes the differences among the sensations in terms of which cells are active.

Adequate stimulus

A sensory receptor's adequate stimulus is the stimulus modality for which it possesses the adequate sensory transduction apparatus. Adequate stimulus can be used to classify sensory receptors:

Baroreceptors respond to pressure in blood vessels

Chemoreceptors respond to chemical stimuli

Electromagnetic radiation receptors respond to electromagnetic radiation

Infrared receptors respond to infrared radiation

Photoreceptors respond to visible light

Ultraviolet receptors respond to ultraviolet radiation

Electroreceptors respond to electric fields

Ampullae of Lorenzini respond to electric fields, salinity, and to temperature, but function primarily as electroreceptors

Hydroreceptors respond to changes in humidity

Magnetoreceptors respond to magnetic fields

Mechanoreceptors respond to mechanical stress or mechanical strain

Nociceptors respond to damage, or threat of damage, to body tissues, leading (often but not always) to pain perception

Osmoreceptors respond to the osmolarity of fluids (such as in the hypothalamus)

Proprioceptors provide the sense of position

Thermoreceptors respond to temperature, either heat, cold or both

Location

Sensory receptors can be classified by location:

Cutaneous receptors are sensory receptors found in the dermis or epidermis.

Muscle spindles contain mechanoreceptors that detect stretch in muscles.

Morphology

Somatic sensory receptors near the surface of the skin can usually be divided into two groups based on morphology:

Free nerve endings characterize the nociceptors and thermoreceptors and are called thus because the terminal branches of the neuron are unmyelinated and spread throughout the dermis and epidermis.

Encapsulated receptors consist of the remaining types of cutaneous receptors. Encapsulation exists for specialized functioning.

Rate of adaptation

A tonic receptor is a sensory receptor that adapts slowly to a stimulus and continues to produce action potentials over the duration of the stimulus. In this way it conveys information about the duration of the stimulus. Some tonic receptors are permanently active and indicate a background level. Examples of such tonic receptors are pain receptors, joint capsule, and muscle spindle.

A phasic receptor is a sensory receptor that adapts rapidly to a stimulus. The response of the cell diminishes very quickly and then stops. It does not provide information on the duration of the stimulus; instead some of them convey information on rapid changes in stimulus intensity and rate. An example of a phasic receptor is the Pacinian corpuscle.

Drugs

There are many drugs currently on the market that are used to manipulate or treat sensory system disorders. For instance, Gabapentin is a drug that is used to treat neuropathic pain by interacting with one of the voltage-dependent calcium channels present on non-receptive neurons. Some drugs may be used to combat other health problems, but can have unintended side effects on the sensory system. Ototoxic drugs are drugs which affect the cochlea through the use of a toxin like aminoglycoside antibiotics, which poison hair cells. Through the use of these toxins, the K+ pumping hair cells cease their function. Thus, the energy generated by the endocochlear potential which drives the auditory signal transduction process is lost, leading to hearing loss.

Neuroplasticity

Ever since scientists observed cortical remapping in the brain of Taub's Silver Spring monkeys, there has been a lot of research into sensory system plasticity. Huge strides have been made in treating disorders of the sensory system. Techniques such as constraint-induced movement therapy developed by Taub have helped patients with paralyzed limbs regain use of their limbs by forcing the sensory system to grow new neural pathways. Phantom limb syndrome is a sensory system disorder in which amputees perceive that their amputated limb still exists and they may still be experiencing pain in it. The mirror box developed by V.S. Ramachandran, has enabled patients with phantom limb syndrome to relieve the perception of paralyzed or painful phantom limbs. It is a simple device which uses a mirror in a box to create an illusion in which the sensory system perceives that it is seeing two hands instead of one, therefore allowing the sensory system to control the "phantom limb". By doing this, the sensory system can gradually get acclimated to the amputated limb, and thus alleviate this syndrome.

Other animals

Hydrodynamic reception is a form of mechanoreception used in a range of animal species.

References

Sensory neuron Wikipedia

(Text) CC BY-SA

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