Question

Describe the sensory system of your animal. What kinds of need? What nervous system structures might be necessary to work with the sensory structures? Be sure to include a discussion of the sensory systems at the molecular, cellular, organ, and organismal levels 4. information does your animal

I will be doing the auditory system of a mammal but I am having trouble with what nervous system structures may be necessary and the discussion at the molecular, cellular, organ, organismal levels. Please help.

Answer 1

Auditory system of mammals are highly developed among the vertebrates or animal kingdom. The organ that detects sound is the ear. It acts as receiver and thus collects the acoustic information and sends it to the brain through nervous system. The ear not only plays the role in hearing but also in maintaining balance of the body.

In mammals, the sensory structure for hearing is cochlea. It is coiled structure. In its cross section, it shows three canals:

i) scala vestibuli ii) scala media iii) scala tympani

The internal structure of cochlea consists of organ of corti, which contains hair cells. The basal end of the hair cells in close contact with the afferent nerve fiber forms cochlear nerve branch.

Nervous system structures necessary to work with the sensory structures:

As ears are statoacoustic organ, they help in hearing as well as balancing the body.

The act of equilibrium is done by utriculus, sacculus and the three canals. Sensory hairs are sensitized by otolith. These impulses are carried to brain by auditory nerves. After this, messeges are send through motor fibers to the skeletal muscles of the body.

The dynamic balancing is done by sensory ridges of ampulla of semicircular canals. The stimulation is carried to brain by auditory nerves and messege is send to muscle of legs which controls the body balance at the time of walking.

On the other hand, the act of hearing is controlled by organ of corti. The sound waves are collected by ear pinna, which travels through ear canal and hit the ear drum, which vibrates and thus these vibrations reach upto the organ of corti, where hair cells stimulates the sense of hearing through auditory nerves.