The tactile sense of light touch is transduced by encapsulated endings located in the papillary dermis, especially in the fingertips and lips. What are these receptors called?

Correct answer: Tactile (Meissner's) corpuscles

Explanation

This question tests the ability to identify the specific type of mechanoreceptor responsible for the sensation of light touch.

Other questions

Question 1

Which functional type of receptor is responsible for interpreting chemical stimuli, such as an object's taste or smell?

Question 2

The middle ear contains three small bones called ossicles. What are these three bones?

Question 3

In the visual pathway, where does the decussation, or crossing over, of axons from the medial retina of each eye occur?

Question 4

What is the defining landmark of the medullary-spinal border where most of the fibers in the corticospinal tract cross over to the opposite side of the brain?

Question 5

What is the approximate range of sound frequencies that human ears can detect?

Question 6

What is the name for the reflex, commonly tested in newborns, where gentle stimulation of the plantar surface of the foot results in dorsiflexion of the foot and extension and splaying of the toes?

Question 7

Which major ascending pathway in the spinal cord is primarily responsible for transmitting pain and temperature sensations to the brain?

Question 8

Which specialized motor planning center in the frontal lobe is responsible for controlling movements of the structures involved in speech production?

Question 9

What is the classification for a receptor located near a moving part of the body, such as a muscle, that interprets the positions of the tissues as they move?

Question 10

What is the innermost layer of the eye, which contains the nervous tissue responsible for photoreception?

Question 11

How many extraocular muscles, which originate from the bones of the orbit and insert into the surface of the eyeball, are responsible for moving the eye?

Question 12

Which taste submodality is often referred to as the savory taste and is based on the activation of G protein–coupled receptors by the amino acid L-glutamate?

Question 13

What is the name of the large cortical neurons in the primary motor cortex that send motor commands down the corticospinal and corticobulbar tracts?

Question 14

A clinical presentation of bilateral hemianopia, or the loss of lateral peripheral vision, can be caused by a tumor in the pituitary gland pressing against which structure of the visual pathway?

Question 15

As the corticospinal tract descends from the cortex, it passes between the caudate nucleus and putamen of the basal nuclei. What is this bundle of axons called?

Question 16

How does the cochlea encode sound frequency, allowing the brain to distinguish between high and low pitches?

Question 17

In vision, what is the biochemical process in which a photon causes a retinal molecule to change from an 11-cis isomer to an all-trans isomer?

Question 18

Which type of somatosensory mechanoreceptor, found deep in the dermis or subcutaneous tissue, is responsible for transducing deep pressure and high-frequency vibration?

Question 19

Visual processing occurs in two separate streams. The dorsal stream enters which lobe of the brain to help locate objects in space and guide body movements?

Question 20

In a withdrawal reflex from a painful stimulus like touching a hot stove, an interneuron in the spinal cord is activated. What is the function of this interneuron?

Question 21

Which of the two major ascending sensory pathways in the spinal cord decussates (crosses the midline) in the brain stem?

Question 22

The dorsal column system is composed of two tracts. Which tract contains axons from the upper body and arms?

Question 23

The sensory homunculus, a topographical map of the body on the somatosensory cortex, exaggerates the cortical area for which of the following body parts?

Question 24

What is the approximate range of wavelengths for visible light that humans can perceive?

Question 25

Which extrapyramidal tract projects from the midbrain to the spinal cord and is important for postural movements driven by the superior colliculus?

Question 26

The sensory pathway for gustation (taste) travels along the facial and glossopharyngeal nerves, which synapse with neurons of which nucleus in the brain stem?

Question 27

Within the vestibule of the inner ear, which enlarged region at the base of each semicircular canal contains the hair cells that respond to rotational movement?

Question 28

The axons of which type of retinal cell collect at the optic disc and leave the eye to form the optic nerve?

Question 29

Which descending motor pathway is largely contralateral, meaning its fibers cross the midline to control muscles on the opposite side of the body?

Question 30

What is the term for the watery fluid that fills the anterior cavity of the eye, located between the cornea and the lens?

Question 31

What is the primary function of the supplemental motor area in the frontal lobe?

Question 32

The sense of balance is coordinated through the vestibular system. Which structures are primarily responsible for sensing head position and linear acceleration?

Question 33

What is the photosensitive pigment found in the rod photoreceptors of the retina?

Question 34

What type of sensory receptor cell has a structure where the sensory nerve endings are encapsulated in connective tissue to enhance their sensitivity?

Question 35

The auditory brain stem mechanisms for sound localization are achieved by calculating the interaural time difference and what other difference?

Question 36

Which component of the eye is a muscular structure attached to the lens by zonule fibers that bends the lens to focus light?

Question 37

A patient experiences a loss of the ability to move their appendicular muscles (arms and legs) but maintains control of their axial muscles (trunk). This would suggest damage to which descending motor pathway?

Question 38

What is the function of the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR)?

Question 39

Where in the retina is visual acuity, or the sharpness of vision, greatest because it only contains photoreceptors?

Question 40

The motor command for a voluntary movement originates in the primary motor cortex. What is the second neuron in this two-neuron pathway that is responsible for causing muscle fibers to contract?

Question 41

Sound localization is a feature of central processing in the auditory nuclei of the brain stem. What is the term for the difference in time it takes for a sound to arrive at each ear?

Question 42

What type of photoreceptor is specialized for vision in low light conditions and does not provide color information?

Question 43

Which structure, part of the inner ear, is often described as a bony labyrinth and contains the cochlea and the vestibule?

Question 44

Which sensory modality does not pass through the ventral posterior thalamus on its way to the cerebral cortex?

Question 45

Which extrapyramidal tract connects the brain stem nuclei of the vestibular system with the spinal cord to modulate posture and balance?

Question 47

A two-point discrimination subtest highlights the density of sensory endings in the skin. Failure to recognize two distinct points may indicate a deficit in which ascending pathway?

Question 48

The motor homunculus on the primary motor cortex allots the greatest amount of cortical space to muscles that perform what type of movements?

Question 49

What are the two main types of skeletal muscle contractions, differentiated by whether the muscle length changes to move a load?

Question 50

In the gustatory system, the perception of sour taste is a direct response to the concentration of which ion in the saliva?