4 - Sensory Physiology Flashcards

1
Q

What does the somatic portion of the nervous branch do?

A

Transmits SENSORY signals from receptors to the brain

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2
Q

What are “motor functions” and “effectors?”

A

Motor functions are the activities which the brain controls via smooth and skeletal muscle contraction and hormone release

Effectors are the end recipients of these actions: the muscles and glands that the brain is telling to do something

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3
Q

the nervous system for controlling skeletal muscle contraction is called:

A

the skeletal motor nerve axis

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4
Q

What is the autonomic nervous system responsible for?

A

Smooth mm, glands, internal organ functions

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5
Q

What is facilitation?

A

Each time certain types of sensory signals pass through sequences of synapses, these synapses become more capable of transmitting the same type of signal the next time

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6
Q

Where are most subconscious functions performed?

A

lower areas of the brain—medulla, pons, mesencephalon, hypothalamus, thalamus, cerebellum, and basal ganglia

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7
Q

What are the two major types of synapses?

A

Chemical and Electrical

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8
Q

The CNS mostly relies on what type of synapses?

A

Chemical

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9
Q

Where are electrical synapses found?

A

Cardiac and Smooth Muscle

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10
Q

Most synapses in the brain are:

A

chemical

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11
Q

When are electrical synapses useful?

A

Since they have bidirectional conduction, they’re ideal for distributing signals for simultaneous action, like in cardiac muscle

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12
Q

Why are chemical synapses ideal for transmitting nervous impulses?

A

Transmission only flows in one direction: from the first neuron to the second neuron

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13
Q

What are the three parts of a motor neuron?

A
  1. Soma (main body)
  2. Axon (extends from soma to peripheral nerve)
  3. Dendrites (brances off the soma that receive sensory input from nerve endings)
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14
Q

What are presynaptic terminals?

A

80-95% attached to the dendrites

Ends of nerve fibrils that originate from other neurons

May excite or inhibit the postsynaptic neuron

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15
Q

What are some alternate names for presynaptic terminals?

A

Terminal Knobs

Boutons

End-Feet

Synaptic Knobs

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16
Q

How wide is the synaptic cleft usually?

A

200-300 angstroms

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17
Q

What are transmitter vesicles?

A

Secretory vesicles in the presynaptic neuron that contain neurotransmitters

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18
Q

During depolarization of a chemical synapse, what causes release of secretory vesicles into the synaptic cleft?

A

voltage-gated Calcium influx in the presynaptic neuron

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19
Q

The quantity of neurotransmitter released by the presynaptic neuron is directly proportional to:

A

the amount of calcium that enters the presynaptic membrane during depolarization

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20
Q

What are the two major parts of receptor proteins in postsynaptic neurons?

A

Binding Component

Intracellulary Component

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21
Q

Receptor activation controls the opening of ion channels in the postsynaptic cell in one of two ways:

A
  1. gating ion channels directly
  2. Activating Second Messengers
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22
Q

What are ionotropic receptors?

A

Receptor proteins that directly effect gated ion channels

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23
Q

What are metabotropic receptors?

A

Influence cellular activity in the postsynaptic neuron via second messenger systems

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24
Q

What is an excitatory transmitter?

A

a neurotransmitter that opens CATION channels in the postsynaptic neuron

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25
Q

What is an inhibitory transmitter?

A

neurotransmitters than open ANION channels in the postsynaptic neuron

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26
Q

Negative charges entering a cell =

Positive charges entering a cell =

A

Inhibition

Excitation

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27
Q

prolonged postsynaptic excitation or inhibition is always caused by:

A

second messenger systems

ion channel activation is rapid and short

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28
Q

What happens when a transmitter binds to a G protein?

A
  1. Receptor exposes a binding site for the G protein complex
  2. GPC binds to the receptor
  3. alpha subunit of GPC releases GDP and binds with GTP
  4. Binding with ATP separates the Alpha unit from the rest of the GPC, and it’s free to move about the cell and perform various functions
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29
Q

What four functions can an activated G complex perform?

A
  1. open a specific ion channel for a prolonged time
  2. Activate cAMP or cGMP, which can in turn activate a multitude of long term cellular changes
  3. Activate intracellular enzymes
  4. Activate gene transcription
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30
Q

What are the three ways postsynaptic excitation occurs?

A
  1. Opening sodium channels (making resting potential more positive, hypopolarized, easy to excite)
  2. Decrease conduction through Cl (decreases negative movement into the cell) and/or K gates (decreases positive movement out of the cell) making the resting potential more positive, hypopolarized, easy to excite
  3. Change the internal metabolism of the postsynaptic neuron to excite activity
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31
Q

What are three ways postsynaptic inhibition occurs?

A
  1. Opening of Cl channels, moving more negative anions into the cell and inhibiting excitation
  2. Increasing conductance of potassium out of the cell, moving positive anions out of the cell, hyperpolarizing and inhibiting excitation
  3. Activation of receptor enzymes, inhibits metabolic functions etc.
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32
Q

What are the two groups of synaptic neurotransmitters?

A

Small Molecule Rapid Acting

Neuropeptide Slow Acting or Growth Factors

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33
Q

Function and location of Glycine

A

synapses at the spinal cord

always inhibitory

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34
Q

Function and location of dopamine

A

Secreted by neurons in substantia nigra

Usually terminates in basal ganglia

Usually inhibitory

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35
Q

Where are small molecule transmitters synthesized?

Neuropeptides?

A

Cytosol

Ribosomes (large protein molecules)

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36
Q

When are vesicles reused? When are they not?

A

Reused with small molecule. Autolyzed with neuropeptides.

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37
Q

How is electrical potential distributed within the soma of a neuron?

A

Uniformly

any change in potential in any part of the intrasomal fluid causes an almost exactly equal change in potential at all other points inside the soma, as long as the neuron is not transmitting an action potential

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38
Q

What is an EPSP?

A

Excitatory Postsynaptic Potential

Positive increase in voltage above the normal resting membrane potential

Increased Na movement in. Hypopolarizes. Excites.

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39
Q

What size EPSP is required to elicit an actional potential in the soma?

In the axon initial segment?

A

+30 to +40 mV

Only +10 to +20 mV

The is why action potentials generally begin in the axon initial segment and not the soma

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40
Q

What is the resting membrane of a neuron?

Threshold for excitement of a neuron?

A
  • 65 mV
  • 45 mV
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41
Q

What is an IPSP?

A

Inhibitory Postsynaptic Potential

An increase in the negativity of the resting membrane potential.

Usually reduces from -65mV to -70mV

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42
Q

Hyperpolarization of a neuron is caused by _____ moving out and _______ moving in

A

Potassium

Chloride

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43
Q

In most cases, which inhibitory transmitter causes presynaptic inhibition?

A

GABA

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44
Q

How does GABA cause presynaptic inhibition?

A

Opens chloride channels on the presynaptic neuron, causing hyperpolarization

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45
Q

How long does inhibitory or excitatory effect on ion channels last if they don’t elicit an action potential?

A

15 mseconds

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46
Q

What is temporal summation?

A

successive discharges from a single presynaptic terminal

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47
Q

What does it mean if a neuron is facilitated?

A

its membrane potential is nearer the threshold for firing than normal but is not yet at the firing level

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48
Q

What is electrotonic current?

A

Dendrites have almost no sodium channels, so they don’t transmit action potentials.

Instead they spread electronic conduction directly through ions in the cell cytoplasm to the soma

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49
Q

what is decremental conduction?

A

Most of the membrane potential generated at the ends of the dendrites is lost before it reaches the soma, because the dendrites are very leaky to sodium

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50
Q

What is synaptic transmission fatigue?

What causes it?

A

repetitive stimulation at a high rate results in decreased excitation. prtective mechanism against excess neuronal activity (why seizures are usually self limited)

  1. exhausted stores of neurotransmitters
  2. inactivation of postsynaptic membrane receptors
  3. abnormal ion concentration in the postsynaptic cell
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51
Q

Alkalosis ________ neuronal activity.

Acidosis ________ neuronal activity.

A

Increases

Depresses

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52
Q

Why is hyperventilation dangerous in epileptic patients?

A

pH going from 7.4 to 7.8 to 8.0 often causes cerebral epileptic seizures

Even a short period of hyperventilation, which blows off carbon dioxide and elevates the pH, may precipitate an epileptic attack.

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53
Q

The excitatory terminals on many neurons can store enough excitatory transmitter to cause _______ action potentials

A

about 10,000

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54
Q

Which three excitatory drugs are found in coffee?

A

caffeine

theophylline

theobromine

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55
Q

What does strychnine do?

A

Excitatory

Inhibits the inhibitory transmitter substances, especially glycine, resulting in severe seizures

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56
Q

What is the minimum synaptic delay?

A

0.5 milliseconds

57
Q

Since each nerve only sends action potentials, how do different nerve fibers transmit different modalities of sensitivity?

A

the type of sensation felt when a nerve fiber is stimulated is determined by the point in the nervous system to which the fiber leads

58
Q

What is the labeled line principle?

A

specificity of nerve fibers for transmitting only one modality of sensation

59
Q

What is the receptor potential?

A

a change in the membrane electrical potential of the receptor

60
Q

Four mechanisms of generating receptor potential

A

(1) Mechanical deformation stretches the receptor membrane and opens ion channels
(2) application of a chemical to the membrane opens ion channels
(3) change of membrane temp alters permeability of the membrane
(4) effects of electromagnetic radiation, such as light on a retinal visual receptor, which either directly or indirectly changes the receptor membrane characteristics and allows ions to flow through membrane channels.

61
Q

What are tonic receptors?

A

Slowly adapting receptors that continuously detect stimulus strength

Pain receptors, baroreceptors, chemoreceptors

62
Q

Rapidly adapting receptors are also called:

A

Rate Receptors

Movement Receptors

Phasic Receptors

63
Q

What do rapid adapting receptors transmit?

A

Changes in stimulus strength

64
Q

The large the diameter of a nerve fiber, the greater the ____

A

conducting velocity

65
Q

Describe Type C nerve fibers

A

small unmyelinated nerve fibers that conduct impulses at low velocities

66
Q

Describe Type A Nerve Fibers

A

large and medium-sized myelinated fibers of spinal nerves

67
Q

What’s the difference between spacial and temporal summation

A

different gradations of intensity transmitted by using increasing numbers of parallel fibers

different gradations of intensity transmitted bysending more action potentials along a single fiber

68
Q

Describe A beta fibers

A

Heavily myelinated

Large Diameter

transduce innocuous or low-threshold mechanical stimulation

69
Q

Describe A delta fibers

A

lightly myelinated

medium-diameter

rapidly conduct first pain

70
Q

Describe C fibers

A

unmyelinated

small fibers

slow conducting

second pain

71
Q
A
72
Q

What are somatic senses?

A

Nervous mechanisms that collect sense from all over the body

NOT special sense

73
Q

What are the special senses?

A

Vision

Hearing

Taste

Smell

Equilibrium

74
Q

What are the three types of somatic senses?

A

Mechanoreceptors

Thermoreceptors

Pain

75
Q

Visceral sensation generally refers to:

A

sensation from the deep organs of the body

76
Q

What are the six tactile receptors?

A
  1. Free Nerve Endings
  2. Meissner’s Corpuscle
  3. Merkel Discs
  4. Hair End Organ
  5. Ruffini Endings
  6. Pacinian Corpuscles
77
Q

Meissner’s Corpuscle

A

Highly sensitive touch receptor

Non-hairy Skin

78
Q

Menkel’s Discs

A

responsible for giving out steady-state signals to determine continuous touch of objects against the skin

Form touch domes

79
Q

Ruffini’s Endings

A

deeper layers of the skin and deeper internal tissues

adapt very slowly

heavy prolonged touch and pressure signals

Found in joints to detect degree of rotation

80
Q

Pacinian Corpucles

A

Rapidly adapt

immediately beneath the skin and deep in the fascial tissues of the body

tissue vibration or other rapid changes in the mechanical state of the tissues

81
Q

Almost all specialized sensory receptors transmit signals via ________ nerve fibers

A

A beta

Except free nerve endings, which transmit over A delta and type C

82
Q

From the dorsal root of the spinal cord, sensory signals follow which two pathways to the brain:

A
  1. Dorsal column - medial lemniscal
  2. anterolateral
83
Q

How does the dorsal column - medial lemniscal travel to the brain?

A

Up via Dorsal Columns

Medulla - crosses over

to thalamus via medial lemniscus

84
Q

How does the anterolateral tract travel to the brain?

A

Dorsal nerve roots

Synapse in the Dorsal Horns

Immediately crosses over and then ascends through the anterior and lateral tracts

Travels up to the thalamus

85
Q

Sensory information that must be transmitted rapidly with temporal and spatial fidelity is transmitted via:

Why?

A

Dorsal Column - Medial Lemniscal

Has a high degree of spatial orientation

86
Q

Sensory information that does not need to be transmitted rapidly or with great spatial fidelity is transmitted via:

A

Anterolateral

87
Q

What can the anterolateral tract do which the dorsal medial cannot?

A

transmit a broad spectrum of sensory modalities, such as pain, warmth, cold, and crude tactile sensations

88
Q

What sensations are transmitted via Dorsal Column - Medial Lemniscal Tract?

A
  1. Touch sensations requiring high degree of localization
  2. Touch sensations requiring transmission of fine gradations of intensity
  3. Phasic sensations, such as vibratory sensations
  4. Sensations that signal movement against the skin
  5. Position sensations from the joints
  6. Pressure sensations related to fine degrees of judgment of pressure intensity
89
Q

What sensation are transmitted via the anterolateral system?

A
  1. Pain
  2. Thermal sensations, including both warm and cold sensations
  3. Crude touch and pressure sensations capable only of crude localizing ability on the surface of the body
  4. Tickle and itch sensations
  5. Sexual sensations
90
Q

The medial lemniscus is located in the ______

A

pons

91
Q

How does the dorsal column - medial lemniscal tract transmit with such specific spacial orientation?

A

dorsal columns: fibers from the lower parts of the body lie toward the center of the cord, progressively higher segmental levels form successive layers laterally

In the thalamus: tail end of the body represented by the most lateral portions of the ventrobasal complex, head and face represented by the medial areas of the complex

92
Q

What are brodmann’s areas?

A

A map of the human cerebral cortex

93
Q

In general, where do sensory signals from all modalities of sensation terminate in the brain?

A

in the cerebral cortex immediately posterior to the central fissure

94
Q

Visual signals terminate in the ______

Auditory signals terminate in the _______

A

Occipital Lobe

Temporal Lobe

95
Q

Where is the motor cortex?

Sensory cortex?

A

Frontal Lobe: Anterior to central fissure

Parietal Lobe: Posterior to central fissure

96
Q

What divides the frontal lobe from the parietal lobe

A

central sulcus

97
Q

Which has a higher degree of localization:

Somatosensory I or II

A

I

II has very little localization

98
Q

If somatosensory area I is removed/destroyed, will the person still feel pain?

A

Yes! But the pain will not be well localized

99
Q

What is the role of the somatosensory association area?

A

Allows interpretation of sensation, like knowing you’re holding a knife or a ball from the way it feels

100
Q

How does lateral inhibition work?

A

Whenever there is excitation, the sensory pathway also produces inhibition of the lateral sides of the pathway and prevents spread to adjacent neurons

It blocks spread, which allows greater distinction and interpretation. The brain knows exactly where that sensation is coming from, because spread is inhibited

101
Q

Which pathway exhibits the most lateral inhibition?

A

Dorsal. This is part of its precise localization.

102
Q

What is the Weber-Fechner Principle?

A

a change will only be detected if it’s delta ratio is greater than 1:30

So if you are holding 30g, the body can only detect the addition of more weight if the added amount is greater than 1g

103
Q

Which sensors help determine joint angulation?

A

Normal range: Muscle Spindles

Extreme Range: pascinian, ruffini, golgi tendon receptors

104
Q

What is the function of the thalamus in somatosensory perception?

A

discrimination of pain and temperatue

crude discrimination of tactile senses

105
Q

What are some chemicals that incite pain?

A

Bradykinin

Serotonin

Histamine

Potassium

Acids

Acetylcholine

106
Q

What substances enhance the sensitivity of pain endings, but do not directly excite them?

A

Prostaglandins

Substance P

107
Q

How adaptable are pain receptors?

A

Very little if at all

Makes them different from almost all other sensory receptors

108
Q

Pain resulting from heat is closely correlated with:

A

the rate of damage,

not the amount of damage that has occurred

109
Q

Velocity of A delta

C

A

6-30 m/sec

0.5-2 m/sec

110
Q

What neurotransmitter is secreted at A delta fiber endings in the spinal cord?

A

glutamate

111
Q

A delta fibers travel to the brain via the ______ tract

C fibers travel to the brain via the _______ tract

A

Neospinothalamic

Paleospinothalamic

112
Q

Where does the neospinothalamic tract terminate?

A

Some in reticular areas

Most directly to the thalamus to ventrobasal complex (same as dorsal column - medial lemniscal)

113
Q

Type C pain fiber terminal release _____ and ______

A

glutamate

substance P

114
Q

Glutamate involves _____ pain

Substance P involves _____ pain

A

acute/fast

chronic/slow

115
Q

Where does the paleospinothalamic tract terminate?

A

Reticular Nuclei

Periaqueductal Gray

Tectal Mesencephalon

116
Q

Why is it almost impossible to sleep well with chronic pain?

A

The paleospinothalamic tract primarily terminates in the reticular area, which is responsible for wakefulness

117
Q

Which neurotransmitters are involved in efferent dorsal inhibition?

A

serotonin

enkephalin

118
Q

The brains opiate system is made up of ______ and _____

A

endorphins

enkephalins

119
Q

Why does accupuncture relieve pain?

A

The inhibitory effect of simultaneous tactile stimulations

AND

psychogenic activation of the central analgesia system

120
Q

Why is internal visceral pain often associated with referred pain?

A

In the spinal cord, visceral and skin nerve fibers synapse on the same second order neurons

When visceral pain fibers are stimulated, pain signals from the viscera are conducted through at least some of the same neurons that conduct pain signals from the skin, and the person has the feeling that the sensations originate in the skin.

121
Q

Why does an incision to the bowel produce no pain, but necrosis or ischemia in the bowel produces extreme pain?

A

Highly localized damage almost never causes pain

diffuse stimulation does

122
Q

Why is all visceral pain dull, diffuse, and aching?

A

Virtually all of the nerve fibers that supply the gut are C Fibers

123
Q

Which areas of organs are completely insensitive to pain?

A

The alveoli in the lungs

The parenchyma of the liver (NOT the liver capsule, which is exquisitely sensitive)

124
Q

What is the difference between true visceral pain and parietal pain?

A

True visceral pain is transmitted via pain sensory fibers in the autonomic bundles and is often referred

Parietal pain is conducted directly into local spinal nerves from the parietal peritoneum, pleura, or pericardium, and is localized directly over the painful area.

125
Q

Why is visceral pain often felt in two places simultaneously?

A

From referred pain via the visceral pathway and direct pain via the parietal pathway

126
Q

Appendix pain occurs in which two places?

A

Parietal: irritation of the parietal wall causes pain in the abdominal wall directly over the area

Visceral: appendix transmission through sympathetic fibers enters the spinal cord at T10 and therefore causes referred pain in the umbilical area

127
Q

What causes primary and secondary hyperalgesia?

A

Primary: excessive sensitivity of the receptors

Secondary: increased facilitation of sensory transmission

128
Q

What’s an example of primary hyperalgesia?

A

Sunburn (everything that touches the burned skin hurts, even if it’s just your sheets)

129
Q

What causes secondary hyperalgesia?

A

usually lesions in the spinal cord or thalamus

130
Q

Shingles results when:

A

herpesvirus infects a dorsal root ganglion

The rash and pain occur within the dermatome and on the side of that nerve root

131
Q

What is Tic Douloureaux?

A

lancinating or stabbing type of pain over one side of the face in the sensory area of the fifth or ninth nerves

Usually stimulated initially by a mechanoreceptor (food bolus passing a tonsil)

Requires surgical excision of nerve

132
Q

What is Brown-Sequard Syndrome?

A

Spinal cord transected only on one side

sensations of pain, heat, and cold—sensations served by the spinothalamic pathway—are lost on the opposite side of the body

the sensations that are transmitted only in the dorsal and dorsolateral columns—kinesthetic and position sensations, vibration sensation, discrete localization, and two-point discrimination—are lost on the side of the transection

133
Q

Does the body have more cold spots or warm spots?

A

3-10x as many cold spots

134
Q

Warmth receptors have ____ receptors and are transmitted over ______ fibers

A

free nerve ending

C

135
Q

Cold sensation is transmitted via ______ fibers

A

A delta

136
Q

Do warmth and cold receptors primarily detect:

A

changes in temperature, not necessarily degree of temperature

If you’re constantly in 100 degree weather it will be more tolerable than walking from 70 degrees into 100 degree weather

137
Q

rapid changes in temperature as little as 0.01°C can be detected if:

temperature changes 100 times as great often will not be detected when:

A

this change affects the entire surface of the body

the affected skin area is only 1 square centimeter in size.

138
Q
A