Transduction (psychology)

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Transduction in general is the transportation or transformation of something from one form, place, or concept to another. In psychology, transduction refers to reasoning from specific cases to general cases, typically employed by children during their development. The word has many specialized definitions in varying fields. Furthermore, transduction is defined as what takes place when many sensors in the body convert physical signals from the environment into encoded neural signals sent to the central nervous system. [1]

Contents

Sensation and perception

The five senses, vision, hearing, touch and taste/smell allow physical stimulation around us to turn to neural stimulation which is sent to the brain. Vision is from light reflecting off objects around us, hearing is from the vibrations caused by change in air pressure, touch is from the signals in our skin feeling the pressure of objects touching us and taste/smell is from the molecules in the air or in our saliva that let us know what we are smelling or tasting. [1] Cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) plays an important role in visual transductions. This fact was well rooted when Fesenko demonstrated that this nucleotide cGMP was able to directly regulate a new assort of membrane channels now called the nucleotide-gated cation channels. This was how the route from the light to a change in the rod receptor membrane conductance was conclusively organized in the twentieth century and has been represented in more insightful detail over the past ten years. [2]

Etymology

The etymological origin of the word transduction has been attested since the 17th century (during the flourishing of Neo-Latin, Latin vocabulary words used in scholarly and scientific contexts [3] ) from the Latin noun transductionem, derived from transducere/traducere [4] "to change over, convert," a verb which itself originally meant "to lead along or across, transfer," from trans- "across" + ducere "to lead." [5] [6]

The verb form of this term in English, transduce, was created by back-formation in the 20th century. [7]

In physiology as relates to psychology

Transduction in physiology also has a meaning that relates to psychology when discussing the biological origins of the mind: that is, transduction meaning the transportation of stimuli to the central nervous system, when physical signals from the environment are transformed into electrical or neural signals. [8] Receptor cells produce an electrical change in response to a physical stimulus.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Perception</span> Interpretation of sensory information

Perception is the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in order to represent and understand the presented information or environment. All perception involves signals that go through the nervous system, which in turn result from physical or chemical stimulation of the sensory system. Vision involves light striking the retina of the eye; smell is mediated by odor molecules; and hearing involves pressure waves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Signal transduction</span> Cascade of intracellular and molecular events for transmission/amplification of signals

Signal transduction is the process by which a chemical or physical signal is transmitted through a cell as a series of molecular events, most commonly protein phosphorylation catalyzed by protein kinases, which ultimately results in a cellular response. Proteins responsible for detecting stimuli are generally termed receptors, although in some cases the term sensor is used. The changes elicited by ligand binding in a receptor give rise to a biochemical cascade, which is a chain of biochemical events known as a signaling pathway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Umami</span> One of the five basic tastes

Umami, or savoriness, is one of the five basic tastes. It has been described as savory and is characteristic of broths and cooked meats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cyclic nucleotide</span> Cyclic nucleic acid

A cyclic nucleotide (cNMP) is a single-phosphate nucleotide with a cyclic bond arrangement between the sugar and phosphate groups. Like other nucleotides, cyclic nucleotides are composed of three functional groups: a sugar, a nitrogenous base, and a single phosphate group. As can be seen in the cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) and cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) images, the 'cyclic' portion consists of two bonds between the phosphate group and the 3' and 5' hydroxyl groups of the sugar, very often a ribose.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sensory nervous system</span> Part of the nervous system responsible for processing sensory information

The sensory nervous system is a part of the nervous system responsible for processing sensory information. A sensory system consists of sensory neurons, neural pathways, and parts of the brain involved in sensory perception and interoception. Commonly recognized sensory systems are those for vision, hearing, touch, taste, smell, balance and visceral sensation. Sense organs are transducers that convert data from the outer physical world to the realm of the mind where people interpret the information, creating their perception of the world around them.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Photoreceptor cell</span> Type of neuroepithelial cell

A photoreceptor cell is a specialized type of neuroepithelial cell found in the retina that is capable of visual phototransduction. The great biological importance of photoreceptors is that they convert light into signals that can stimulate biological processes. To be more specific, photoreceptor proteins in the cell absorb photons, triggering a change in the cell's membrane potential.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stimulus (physiology)</span> Detectable change in the internal or external surroundings

In physiology, a stimulus is a detectable change in the physical or chemical structure of an organism's internal or external environment. The ability of an organism or organ to detect external stimuli, so that an appropriate reaction can be made, is called sensitivity (excitability). Sensory receptors can receive information from outside the body, as in touch receptors found in the skin or light receptors in the eye, as well as from inside the body, as in chemoreceptors and mechanoreceptors. When a stimulus is detected by a sensory receptor, it can elicit a reflex via stimulus transduction. An internal stimulus is often the first component of a homeostatic control system. External stimuli are capable of producing systemic responses throughout the body, as in the fight-or-flight response. In order for a stimulus to be detected with high probability, its level of strength must exceed the absolute threshold; if a signal does reach threshold, the information is transmitted to the central nervous system (CNS), where it is integrated and a decision on how to react is made. Although stimuli commonly cause the body to respond, it is the CNS that finally determines whether a signal causes a reaction or not.

In physiology, transduction is the translation of arriving stimulus into an action potential by a sensory receptor. It begins when stimulus changes the membrane potential of a receptor cell.

Stimulus modality, also called sensory modality, is one aspect of a stimulus or what is perceived after a stimulus. For example, the temperature modality is registered after heat or cold stimulate a receptor. Some sensory modalities include: light, sound, temperature, taste, pressure, and smell. The type and location of the sensory receptor activated by the stimulus plays the primary role in coding the sensation. All sensory modalities work together to heighten stimuli sensation when necessary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sensory neuron</span> Nerve cell that converts environmental stimuli into corresponding internal stimuli

Sensory neurons, also known as afferent neurons, are neurons in the nervous system, 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cyclic nucleotide–gated ion channel</span>

Cyclic nucleotide–gated ion channels or CNG channels are ion channels that function in response to the binding of cyclic nucleotides. CNG channels are nonselective cation channels that are found in the membranes of various tissue and cell types, and are significant in sensory transduction as well as cellular development. Their function can be the result of a combination of the binding of cyclic nucleotides and either a depolarization or a hyperpolarization event. Initially discovered in the cells that make up the retina of the eye, CNG channels have been found in many different cell types across both the animal and the plant kingdoms. CNG channels have a very complex structure with various subunits and domains that play a critical role in their function. CNG channels are significant in the function of various sensory pathways including vision and olfaction, as well as in other key cellular functions such as hormone release and chemotaxis. CNG channels have also been found to exist in prokaryotes, including many spirochaeta, though their precise role in bacterial physiology remains unknown.

Second messengers are intracellular signaling molecules released by the cell in response to exposure to extracellular signaling molecules—the first messengers. Second messengers trigger physiological changes at cellular level such as proliferation, differentiation, migration, survival, apoptosis and depolarization.

Visual phototransduction is the sensory transduction process of the visual system by which light is detected to yield nerve impulses in the rod cells and cone cells in the retina of the eye in humans and other vertebrates. It relies on the visual cycle, a sequence of biochemical reactions in which a molecule of retinal bound to opsin undergoes photoisomerization, initiates a cascade that signals detection of the photon, and is indirectly restored to its photosensitive isomer for reuse. Phototransduction in some invertebrates such as fruit flies relies on similar processes.

In medicine and anatomy, the special senses are the senses that have specialized organs devoted to them:

In biology, cell signaling or cell communication is the ability of a cell to receive, process, and transmit signals with its environment and with itself. Cell signaling is a fundamental property of all cellular life in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Signals that originate from outside a cell can be physical agents like mechanical pressure, voltage, temperature, light, or chemical signals. Cell signaling can occur over short or long distances, and as a result can be classified as autocrine, juxtacrine, intracrine, paracrine, or endocrine. Signaling molecules can be synthesized from various biosynthetic pathways and released through passive or active transports, or even from cell damage.

A nucleotidase is a hydrolytic enzyme that catalyzes the hydrolysis of a nucleotide into a nucleoside and a phosphate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gustducin</span> G protein

Gustducin is a G protein associated with taste and the gustatory system, found in some taste receptor cells. Research on the discovery and isolation of gustducin is recent. It is known to play a large role in the transduction of bitter, sweet and umami stimuli. Its pathways are many and diverse.

Hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide–gated (HCN) channels are integral membrane proteins that serve as nonselective voltage-gated cation channels in the plasma membranes of heart and brain cells. HCN channels are sometimes referred to as pacemaker channels because they help to generate rhythmic activity within groups of heart and brain cells. HCN channels are activated by membrane hyperpolarization, are permeable to Na + and K +, and are constitutively open at voltages near the resting membrane potential. HCN channels are encoded by four genes and are widely expressed throughout the heart and the central nervous system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sense of smell</span> Sense that detects smells

The sense of smell, or olfaction, is the special sense through which smells are perceived. The sense of smell has many functions, including detecting desirable foods, hazards, and pheromones, and plays a role in taste.

A sense is a biological system used by an organism for sensation, the process of gathering information about the world through the detection of stimuli. Although traditionally five human senses were identified as such, it is now recognized that there are many more. Senses used by non-human organisms are even greater in variety and number. During sensation, sense organs collect various stimuli for transduction, meaning transformation into a form that can be understood by the brain. Sensation and perception are fundamental to nearly every aspect of an organism's cognition, behavior and thought.

References

  1. 1 2 Schacter, D. L., Gilbert, D. T., & Wegner, D. M. (2010). Psychology. (2nd ed.). New York: Worth Pub.
  2. ↑ "Visual Transduction And Non-Visual Light Perception - Joyce Tombran-Tink, Colin J. Barnstable - Google Books" . Retrieved 2014-01-22– via Google Books.
  3. ↑ "Neo-Latin". The American College Dictionary. Random House. 1966.
  4. ↑ Harper, Douglas. "transduction". Online Etymology Dictionary . Retrieved 2012-07-31.
  5. ↑ Harper, Douglas. "traduce". Online Etymology Dictionary . Retrieved 2012-07-31.
  6. ↑ Harper, Douglas. "transducer". Online Etymology Dictionary . Retrieved 2012-07-31.
  7. ↑ Harper, Douglas. "transduce". Online Etymology Dictionary . Retrieved 2012-07-31.
  8. ↑ Daniel L. Schacter, Daniel T. Gilbert, Daniel M. Wegner, Psychology, 2nd edition, Worth Publishers, 2010.
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