somatosensory (touch)

Question 1

describe the difference between sensation and perception

Answer 1

sensation is taking in information from receptors, perception is how the pain is perceived

Question 2

afferent information

Answer 2

taking in information from the environment, receptors to brain

Question 3

efferent information

Answer 3

movement information, brain to muscles

Question 4

what does the somatosensory system do

Answer 4

detect touch, temperature, pain, position in space, and movement

Question 5

what organ is involved in somatosensory? what are the 3 parts?

Answer 5

skin. epidermis, dermis, hypodermis

Question 6

epidermis

Answer 6

outermost layer of skin, constantly replaced by skin cells

Question 7

dermis

Answer 7

middle layer, has mechanoreceptors and blood vessels

Question 8

hypodermis

Answer 8

has blood vessels and adipose (fat) tissue

Question 9

what are the different types of receptors in somatosensory

Answer 9

nocioception, hapsis, proprioception

Question 10

what do somatosensory receptors tell the brain

Answer 10

when something occurs and if it is still occuring

Question 11

noicioception

Answer 11

perception of pain

Question 12

hapsis

Answer 12

perception of fine touch and pressure, helps to identify things we touch and grasp

Question 13

proprioception

Answer 13

location and movement of body

Question 14

what does the dorsal/posterior spinothalamic tract do

Answer 14

carries haptic and proprioceptive info (fine touch/location of body info) through the spine up the brain

Question 15

what does the ventral/anterior spinothalamic tract do

Answer 15

carries nocioceptive (pain) info

Question 16

describe the dorsal/posterior spinothalamic pathway

Answer 16

axons ascend spine ipsilaterally > form medial meniscus that goes up > synapse with ventral posterolateral nucleus of the thalamus > somatosensory and motor cortex

Question 17

describe the ventral/anterior spinothalamic pathway

Answer 17

axons ascend spine contralaterally > form medial meniscus that goes up > synapse with ventral posterolateral nucleus of thalamus > somatosensory cortex

Question 18

what is the function of the primary somatosensory cortex

Answer 18

takes projections from the thalamus in order to process sensory information

Question 19

what is the function of the secondary somatorsensory cortex

Answer 19

refines construction of perception of info in order to confirm them before starting movements

Question 20

what is the homunculus man

Answer 20

a man with differently proportioned body parts that correspond to the amount of sensory neurons in the part of the body. act as a visualization for density of neuron receptors (ie big hands for high density touch receptors)

Question 21

why are pain receptors important

Answer 21

help to identify when something in the body is wrong

Question 22

what is gate theory

Answer 22

a theory stating that when you hurt a body part (ie a stubbed toe) you can rub it to activate the haptic-prioceptive paths and deactivate pain path, which relieves pain.

Question 23

what are the types of pain the body can receive

Answer 23

temperature and pressure

Question 24

what are the different types of pain receptors

Answer 24

alpha delta: respond to quick pain since they are myelinated
C-fibers: unmyelinated and act slower to produce throbbing and aching

Question 25

pain sensitive cells send information to the ___ cortex

Answer 25

somatosensory

Question 26

what parts of the brain is pain relayed to

Answer 26

amygdala, hippocampus, prefrontal cortex