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Perception > Chapter 3 - The Somatosensory System: Touch, Feeling, and Pain > Flashcards

Chapter 3 - The Somatosensory System: Touch, Feeling, and Pain Flashcards

1
Q

touch

A

sensations produced by stimulation of receptors in the skin. Touch sensations include pressure, vibration, warmth and cold as well as various blends of these attributes

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2
Q

somatosensory

A

the somatosensory system dels with all aspects of touch sensation

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3
Q

proprioception

A

perception of body position and movement asising from sensory signals generated by muscle contraction and joint movement

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4
Q

mechanoreceptors

A

sensory receptors found in skin that transduce signals - such as pressure, vibration, heat, and cold - into neural signls that are transmitted to the brain

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5
Q

epithelial cells

A

closely packed cells that fit together to form continuous sheets that are found on the surface of the body or in the lining of its cavities

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6
Q

dorsal root ganglions (DRG)

A

collection of neurons located adjacent to the spinal cord. Fibres from these neurons reach the skin where they terminate either as free neurons or in an encapsulated form. All somatosensory signals from the skin are captures and transmitted to the spinal cord by dorsal rool ganglion neurons

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7
Q

afferent fibre

A

peripheral and cenral branches of the DRG neurons that form a continuous cable, carrying somatosensory signals from the periphery to the spinal cord

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8
Q

temporal resolution

A

ability to distinguish physical stimuli that are applied at different moments in time. A system has high temporal resolution if it can detect objects that are alternated rapidly

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9
Q

receptive field

A

area of skin that will generate an electrical response in a DRG neuron or its afferent fibre. The field size corresponds to the area of skin tissue that will sufficiently conduct physical enerdy to the mechanoreceptor to smitulate it.

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10
Q

spatial resolution

A

ability to distinguish different physical stimuli that are separated in space. A sytem has high spatial resolution if it can detect objects that are closely spaced

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11
Q

characteristics of four types of afferent fibers associated with somatosensory system

A

FIBRE TYPE / MYELINATION / FIBRE DIAMETER / TRANSMISSION SPEED
Aalpha / heavy / 15-20 micrometers / 70-120 m/s
Abeta / medium / 5-15 micrometers / 40-70 m/s
Adelta / light / 1-5 micrometers / 10-35 m/s
C / noone / 02.-1.5 micrometers / 0.5-2 m/s

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12
Q

physiological characteristics and perceptual impressions produced by different types of skin mechanoreceptors and associated afferent fibers

A

MECHANORECEPTOR / SKIN LOCATION / FIBRE TYPE / RESPONSE TYPE / RF SIZE / PERCEPTUAL IMPRESSION
Merkel / superficial / Abeta / SA-I / small / steady pressure
Meissner / superficial / Abeta / FA-I / small / flutter;motion
Ruffini / deep / Abeta / SA-II / large / steady pressure
Pacinian / Deep / Abeta / FA-I / large / vibration
free nerve endings / superficial / Adelta / mixed / variable / warmth, cold, sharp pain, burning pain

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13
Q

Merkel disc

A

small FR size, high spatial resolution, slow adaptation, low temporal resolution
Receptor with accessory structures

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14
Q

Meissner’s corpuscule

A

small RF size, high spatial resolution, fast adaptation, high temporal resolution
Encapsulated receptor

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15
Q

Ruffini corpuscule

A

large RF size, low spatial resolution, slow adaptation, low temporal resolution
Encapsulated receptor

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16
Q

Pacinian corpuscule

A

large RF size, low spatial resolution, fast adaptation, high temporal resolution
Encapsulated receptor

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17
Q

Free nerve endings

A

RF size, spatial resolution, adaptation, and temporal resolution varies

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18
Q

internal capsule

A

fibre tract containing axons from the thalamus and projecting to the somatosensory cortex

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19
Q

modality segregation

A

functional organization within a sensory system where different aspects of sensation are separately processed

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20
Q

somatotopic representation

A

functional organization in the somatosensory system whereby neural processing occurs in an orderly manner, resulting in a spatial representation of the body within a neural structure

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21
Q

primary somatosensory cortex (area S-I)

A

cortical area that serves as the starting point for somatosensory signal processing. It includes four anatomically distinct regions (areas 3a, 3b, 1, and 2) located along the wall of the central sulcus and on the postcentral gyrus

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22
Q

postcentral gyrus

A

mount of cortex located between the central sulcus and the postcentral sulcus. A part of the primary somatosensory cortex (area 1) is located here

23
Q

somatotopic map

A

orderly representation found in the somatosensory cortex where adjacent areas of the body surface are processed by adjacent areas of the cerebral cortex

24
Q

homunculus

A

term generally used to refer to the whole body representation in a particular cortical structure, such as the somatosensory cortex. The primary motor cortex, located anterior to the central sulcus (precentral gyrus), also has an orderly body representation that is called the motor homunculus. The Latin origin of this term means little man

25
Q

precentral gyrus

A

mound of cortex located in front of the central sulcus where the primary motor cortex is found

26
Q

motor map

A

similar to the somatosensory map except that the motor map is an orderly represenation of neurons that intiate voluntary muscular movements in specific parts of the body

27
Q

homotopic connection

A

neuronal connections where the same parts of a body map are connected

28
Q

esthesiometer

A

set of calibrated fibres, each producing a different force when applied to the skin. the early sets used annimal hair, whereas modern ones are developed from nylon fibres

29
Q

callus

A

a hardened or thickened part of the skin that usually occurs from repetitive or excessive strain. A common site for calluses is the palm at the base of the fingers

30
Q

two-point limen

A

minimal separation of two simultaneous indentations that can still e perceived as two separate points. the tem limen is synonymous with threshold. The lower threshold value, the greater the spatial resolution or acuity

31
Q

compass test

A

use of a standard compass - a two-pronged probe where the spatial separation between the points can be varied - to explore the minimum separation that is detectable as two separate points on the skin

32
Q

law of outward mobility

A

greater the mobility of the body, the greater the spatial resolution. Although this is true for the upper extremities (e.g. arms, fingers), it does not necessarily hold true for other body parts

33
Q

point localization error

A

sequential test where a person must indicate the point on the body that was previously touched with a probe. The error between the two points is taken as a measure of tactile discrimination

34
Q

hyperacuity

A

term applied to the very low tactile discrimination thresholds that are found with spatially extensive stimuli in comparison to the traditional two-point test

35
Q

adaptation

A

reduction in perceived intensity or sensitivity due to prior or ongoing background stimulation; brief period of reduced neuronal response that occurs after prolonged stimulation; reduction in the firing rates of neurons with continued application of a stimulus, which may in turn account for the reduced awareness of it with prolonged exposure

36
Q

vibrotactile stimulation

A

a vibrating, tactile stimulation

37
Q

pitch

A

perceptual quality that is most closely associated to vibrational frequency. Although this term is usually associated with hearing, pitch perception in the tactile domain has been extensibely studied as well

38
Q

physiological zero

A

the null range on the temperature scale, about 30-36 degrees C, where a discernable thermal percept does not occur. Changes in tissue temperature away from this zone produce sensations of warm or cool

39
Q

proprioceptors

A

sensory receptors involved in proprioceptive signaling. The two most notable proprioceptors are the muscle spindle and Golgi tendon organ. In addition, there are receptors in the joints that signal a particular position

40
Q

peripheral neuropathy

A

rare neurological condition caused by degeneration of only the large myelinated sensory fibres of the peripheral nervous system. Limb and body movements are possible because the motor fibres remain unaffected

41
Q

microneurography

A

technique developed in the 60s that allowed nerve impulses to be recorded from sensory fibbres in human skin

42
Q

central pain

A

pain that occurs due to activation in the central pain pathways rather than nocicpetive signals from peripheral sites

43
Q

gate control theory

A

spinal transmission of nociceptive signals is controlled by activity in an inhibitory interneuron, which synapses onto a projection neuron. Non-nociceptive influences from the brain or large afferent fibres influence the activity of the interneuron and therefore gate the transmission of pain signals

44
Q

analgesia

A

absence of the sense of pain

45
Q

thermal

A

pertaining to heat or the lack of it (cold) as determined by the temperature of an external object or source in relation to the body

46
Q

thermoreceptors

A

free nerve endings in the skin that respond specifinally to thermal stimulation (warmth or cold) and not to pressure or vibration

47
Q

spatial summation

A

sensory summation in terms of area. the larger the area of the stimulated surface, the greater the magnitude of the sensory experience

48
Q

opponent process

A

notion that certain aspects of sensation are encoded and processed in an opposing manned whereby they cannot be simultaneously perceived

49
Q

kinesthesis

A

sensation of the movement of the body, muscles, tendons, and joints

50
Q

corollary discharge

A

copy of a motor command that is sent to perceptual centres; when the motor enters of the brain produce a voluntary movement, a copy of the neural command to the muscles is made available to the perceptual centres of the brain so that it knows what limb movements have just been initiates; aka efference copy

51
Q

haptic perception

A

ability to identify three-dimensional objects through active manipulation

52
Q

phantom pain

A

lingering painfun sensation that is attributed to a limb that has been amputated

53
Q

referred pain

A

experience of pain at a site remote to where the pain signals are actually generated

54
Q

nociception

A

the generation of sensory signals at specialized receptors (nociceptors) and their subsequent processing by the nervous system to provide information about tissue damage

Perception (6 decks)

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