Chapter 6: Somatosenses

Question 1

Describe cutaneous senses.

Answer 1

Skin senses (pressure, vibration, heating)

Question 2

Describe proprioception.

Answer 2

Perception of body’s position and posture

Question 3

Describe kinesthesia.

Answer 3

Perception of body’s own movements

Question 4

Describe organic sense.

Answer 4

Sense modality that arises from receptors located within inner organs

Question 5

How can we categorize cutaneous mechanoreceptors?

Answer 5

• Morphology
• Type of sensation they perceive
• Rate of adaptation (phasic and tonic)
• Receptive field

Question 6

What does the tonic phase mean?

Answer 6

Adapt slowly

Question 7

What does the phasic phase mean?

Answer 7

Adapt quickly

Question 8

What’re free nerve endings? (mechanoreceptors)

Answer 8

Detect painful stimuli and changes in temperature

Question 9

What’re Ruffini’s end organs? (mechanoreceptors)

Answer 9

detect tension deep in skin

Question 10

What’re Pacinian corpuscles (mechanoreceptors?

Answer 10

Detect rapid vibrations/texture

Question 11

What’re Meissner’s corpuscles (mechanoreceptors)?

Answer 11

Detect changes in texture and adapt rapidly

Question 12

What’re Merkel’s discs (mechanoreceptors)?

Answer 12

Detect sustained touch and tension of skin

Question 13

What happens to the warmth thermoreceptors?

Answer 13

Increase in action potential rate during warming and decrease during cooling

Question 14

What happens to the cold receptors (thermoreceptors)?

Answer 14

Faster conduction increased during cooling and decrease during warming

Question 15

How many types of fibers (nociceptors)?

Answer 15

2

Question 16

Describe thermal nociceptors.

Answer 16

noxious heat or cold

Question 17

Describe mechanical nociceptors.

Answer 17

excess pressure, mechanical deformation or cut

Question 18

Describe chemical nociceptors.

Answer 18

wide variety of environmental irritants

Question 19

Describe silent/sleeping nociceptors.

Answer 19

onset of inflammation to surrounding tissue

Question 20

What is the dorsal column pathway?

Answer 20

Carries touch and kinesthesia information

Question 21

What is the spinothalamic tract?

Answer 21

Carries pain and temperature information

Question 22

What is the sensory component of pain?

Answer 22

pure perception of intensity of painful stimulus

Question 23

What is the immediate emotional consequences of pain?

Answer 23

unpleasantness or degree to which individual is bored by painful stimulus

Question 24

What is the long-term emotional implications of chronic pain?

Answer 24

threat that such pain represents

Question 25

Describe the nocebo effect.

Answer 25

• if substance presented as harmful, may cause harmful effects

Question 26

What did the PET scans show for the placebo effect?

Answer 26

decrease in neural activities in pain-modulatory brain regions

Question 27

What did researchers try to examine since they couldn’t find out what makes depressed people feel like they’re in pain? (3)

Answer 27

1. physical pain in healthy subjects (ventral insula)
2. emotion in healthy subjects (dorsal insula)
3. emotion in patients with MDD