Question

Explain the processes involved in seeing, hearing and tasting.

Answer 1

The processes involved in seeing, hearing and tasting are;

Seeing

The main sensory organ of the visual system is the eye. The physical stimuli of light rays are transduced into electrical and chemical signals that can be interpreted by the brain to construct physical images.

The eye has three main layers: the sclera, which has the cornea; the choroid, which has the pupil, iris, and lens; and the retina, which has the receptor cells called rods and cones.

The cornea focuses the rays as they enter the eye through the pupil. Behind the pupil is the lens. Together with the cornea, the lens adjusts the focal length of the image being seen onto the back of the eye, the retina. At the retina where photoreceptor cells called cones and rods give an image color and shadow. The image is transduced into neural impulses and then transferred through the optic nerve to the rest of the brain for processing.

Hearing

The outer ear is collects and amplifies the sound. The air-filled middle ear transforms sound waves into vibrations, protecting the inner ear from damage. The fluid-filled inner ear transduces sound vibrations into neural signals; which are sent to the brain for processing. The cochlea is the major sensory organ of hearing within the inner ear. Hair cells within the cochlea perform the transduction of sound waves.

Tasting

Chemoreception helps the human body to interpret chemical compounds in ingested food as specific tastes. The five main types of taste sensations: bitter, salty, sweet, sour, and savory. Taste sensations are transduced by taste cells located in groups called taste buds. Which are found highly concentrated on the tongue the major sensory organ of the gustatory system.