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Locomotor System BDS1 > Senses and Perceptions > Flashcards

Senses and Perceptions Flashcards

1
Q

what are the main pieces of information needed to know about a sense?

A

what is it, how big is it, how long and where

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2
Q

what do specific sensory receptors do?

A

convert a stimulus into an electrical action potential and specific sensory pathways help transmit the information

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3
Q

in a sensory nerve cell what is released once the action potential reaches the CNS?

A

glutamate which activates the sensory neurons in the pathway

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4
Q

what is the structure of a sensory nerve cell?

A

receptor, axon and cell body

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5
Q

what are the different types of stimuli?

A

mechanical, thermal, noxious, chemical, light, sound, limb position, blood pressure

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6
Q

what are the different types of receptor?

A

mechanoreceptor, thermoreceptor, nociceptor, chemoreceptor, photoreceptor, proprioreceptor and baroreceptor

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7
Q

what are the different sensations?

A

touch, hot/cold, pain, taste/smell, sight/vision, hearing, spatial awareness

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8
Q

what does it mean if a receptor is modality specific

A

it only responds to a certain type of stimulus (vision, touch, pain etc.)

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9
Q

what is the transduction of a stimulus?

A

change to an electrical impulse

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10
Q

what are the stimulus properties?

A

quality, intensity, duration and location

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11
Q

what does coding of stimulus properties allow?

A

allows you to get a sense of the stimuli you get

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12
Q

what defines a neurons receptive field?

A

the distribution of the nerve endings (receptors) on the end of peripheral nerve branches

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13
Q

what do peripheral branches of the same axon do?

A

encapsulate a region of skin and if a stimulus falls into the region the neuron can generate a signal

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14
Q

why do receptor fields overlap?

A

for maximal coverage of sensation to skin regions

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15
Q

what happens to the receptor fields the further from the core?

A

the smaller they are and the greater degree of overlapping (e.g. more overlapping in fingers than upper arm)

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16
Q

what happens to the receptor fields if you move more proximally?

A

they are much larger and don’t overlap as much

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17
Q

what is two point discrimination?

A

the ability to discern two separate mechanical stimuli; a measure of spatial resolution and an indicative of receptive field size

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18
Q

what is the density of sensory input of small receptor fields?

A

high density of sensory input

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19
Q

what happens if a stimulus is applied in overlapping fields?

A

generation of two stimulus from two points

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20
Q

what happens if two stimuli are applied within the same receptor field?

A

the generation of action potentials in one sensory neuron which is perceived as being a single stimulus

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21
Q

comment on the receptor density around the mouth

A

there is a high density of receptors

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22
Q

what happens once a stimulus acts on an axon?

A

change in receptor membrane permeability - influx of cations - depolarisation: receptor potential - action potential

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23
Q

what happens once an action potential is generated?

A

it is converted centrally into CNS to innervate sensory pathways

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24
Q

what causes depolarisation?

A

molecular or ionic basis

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25
what are the 2 mechanisms for signal transduction?
mechanoreceptors and chemoreceptors
26
describe mechanoreceptor activation
the pores are usually closed, they are joined to subellular structures that are bound to the membrane, a force is applied down on the membrane which pulls the subcellular structures (flexion of the cell membrane) and opens the pore
27
what is an ionotropic channel
direct passage of ions into and out of the cell
28
how are G-protein coupled channels activated?
the receptor ending is distal to the pore itself and the whole protein is interconnected, when the signal comes phosphorylation occurs which opes the channel
29
what chemoreceptor channel is easier to deactivate and what does this mean?
ionotropic are easier to deactivate meaning that the G-protein ones are more likely to stay on for longer
30
what are the two different types of chemoreceptor channel?
ionotropic and G-protein coupled
31
what is stimulus intensity coded by?
frequency of AP discharge, numbers of neurons activated
32
what does increased stimulus intensity mean in terms of AP frequency?
increased AP frequency
33
what is stimulus duration coded by?
duration of AP firing
34
what allows us to differentiate between different signals
the fact that different receptors have different thresholds
35
what type of pain does a slow adapting neuron give?
dull pain
36
what type of neuron fibre is slow adapting?
slow adapting C fibres
37
what type of pain does a rapidly adapting neuron give?
sharp pain
38
what type of neuron is a rapidly adapting neuron?
rapidly adapting nociceptors
39
what are the two different location types?
cortical and topographical
40
what is cortical representation
receptor fields lead to recruitment of cortical circuits in the brain region
41
what is topographical representation?
body map corresponding to particular regions in the brain
42
what are receptors
peripheral endings of sensory neurons
43
where do axons of sensory neurons go?
they enter the CNS and connect to other neurons
44
what are neurons with the same functions grouped into?
bundles or pathways
45
what are primary receiving areas?
areas in the brain where the neural pathways terminate
46
where do pain fibres recruit their circuits from?
outer parts of the brain
47
where do touch fibres recruit their circuits from?
inner parts of the brain
48
what does a peripheral nerve do?
innervate specific body regions
49
what axons does a peripheral nerve contain?
some contain only sensory axons and others also have motor axons
50
where is the brachial plexus and what does it do?
found in the shoulder and is responsible for the innervation of the upper limb
51
what are the branches of the brachial plexus?
axillar, musculocutaneous, radial, ulnar, median
52
where is the epineurium and what does it do?
it touches the outer connective tissue and allows mechanical protection
53
where is the perineurium?
surrounding the axons inside the fascicle
54
what are the different peripheral nerves?
A alpha, A beta, A delta and C
55
describe the A alpha nerve
thickest, conduction of AP happens really quickly
56
what does the A alpha nerve do?
innervate muscle and relay sensory information from muscles about muscle tension
57
describe the A beta nerve
the myelin sheath is a bit thinner so the conduction is not as quick as A alpha
58
what is the A beta nerve involved in?
perception of mechanosensation of the skin
59
describe the A delta nerve
small axon diameter, thinnest myelination so very slow conduction
60
what does the A delta nerve do?
convey dull aching pain
61
describe the C nerve
no myelin sheath, small diameter, very slow transduction
62
what does the C nerve do?
convey dull aching pain
63
where do sensory axons enter the CNS?
via dorsal roots
64
where are the cell bodies of sensory axons located?
in the dorsal root ganglia
65
where do motor axons exit the CNS?
via the ventral roots
66
what parts of the trigeminal nerve are for sensory functions only?
ophthalmic branch and maxillary branch
67
what part of the trigeminal nerve has sensory and motor functions?
mandibular branch
68
what sense does the mechanoreception pathway serve?
touch
69
what sense does the nociception pathway serve?
pain
70
what neurons compose the sensory neuron pathway?
3 interconnected neurons - primary sensory, secondary sensory and tertiary sensory
71
where does the primary sensory neuron in the sensory pathway sit?
it sits in the periphery but projects into the CNS
72
describe the mechanoreception (somatic) pathway that the neurons take on the way to brain
primary sensory neuron sends a side branch to the dorsal horn but the axon continues up and terminates in the brainstem - secondary sensory neuron projects to the side before projecting to thalamus where it synapses and connects to third sensory neuron
73
what is the difference between somatic mechanoreception and mechanoreception in the trigeminal nerve
with the trigeminal nerve, the primary nerve goes straight to the brainstem and not the spinal cord
74
what is the medial lemniscal pathway?
the dorsal column that the primary neuron travels up towards the brainstem
75
what is the trigeminothalamic pathway?
the pathway that the trigeminal nerve takes to get to the brainstem
76
describe the nociception (somatic) pathway that the nerve takes on the way to the brain
primary sensory neuron goes straight to spinal cord and synapses to the secondary neuron which goes to the brain and synapses in the thalamus to the third neuron
77
what is the spinothalamic pathway?
the pathway that the somatic nociception neurons follow - with the first synapse being in the spinal cord rather than the brainstem
78
what is the difference between somatic nociception and trigeminal nerve nociception?
with trigeminal nerve nociception the primary neuron goes straight to the brainstem where it synpases with the secondary neuron
79
what is the difference between the posterior and the anterior trigeminothalamic pathways?
the anterior is for nociception (perception of pain on the face) and the posterior is for mechanoreception (touch)
80
what is the sensory homunculus?
the brains perceptions of senses
81
why is the brain image of senses distorted?
the more sensory neurons that supply an area, the more brain space allocated in the cortex, areas with high density of receptors are represented more widely in the cortex
82
what is stereognosis?
the ability to recognise objects by the feel alone
83
what does stereognosis involve
requires a 3D mental image and the need to compare with previous experiences

Locomotor System BDS1 (8 decks)

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