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PSYCH 367 > Lecture 22 The Cutaneous Senses > Flashcards

Lecture 22 The Cutaneous Senses Flashcards

1
Q

What are the 3 parts of the somatosensory system?

A
  1. the cutaneous senses
  2. proprioception
  3. kinesthesis
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2
Q

What are the cutaneous senses?

A

perception of TOUCH and PAIN from stimulation of the skin

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3
Q

What is proprioception?

A

ability to sense POSITION of the body and limbs

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4
Q

what is kinesthesis?

A

ability to sense MOVEMENT of body and limbs

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5
Q

Stimulation of the skin allows us to perceive a range of sensations including?

A

details, vibrations, texture, shape

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6
Q

What are the key adaptive advantages offered by the cutaneous senses?

A
  • monitoring damage to our body (via pain)
  • helping us coordinate movements/actions
  • protection (keeping organs safe inside, foreign debris/toxins/pathogens outside)
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7
Q

What is the heaviest organ and protects us by keeping damaging agents from penetrating the body?

A

skin

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8
Q

What is the epidermis?

A

the outer layer of the skin, which is made up of dead skin cells

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9
Q

What is the dermis?

A

below epidermis, contains MECHANORECEPTORS that respond to stimuli such as pressure, stretching, and vibration

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10
Q

Which mechanoreceptors are located close to surface of the skin?

A

merkel receptor and meissner

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11
Q

Which mechanoreceptor has small cutaneous receptive fields?

A

MERKEL and MEISSNER

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12
Q

Which mechanoreceptor fires continuously while stimulus is present?

A

merkel receptor

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13
Q

What does it mean if a mechanoreceptor is SA1?

A
  • slowly adapting
  • fire continuously while stimulus is present
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14
Q

TRUE or FALSE: Merkel receptors are SA1

A

true

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15
Q

What are merkel receptors responsible for?

A

fine details

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16
Q

TRUE or FALSE: we can determine shape of things with mechanoreceptors

A

TRUE

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17
Q

When do meissner corpuscles fire?

A

when stimulus is first applied and when it is removed (rapidly adapting - RA1)

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18
Q

what are meissner corpuscles responsible for?

A

hand-grip

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19
Q

Where are ruffini cylinders located in the skin?

A

deeper in the skin

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20
Q

When do Ruffini cylinders fire?

A

continuously under stimulation (SA2)

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21
Q

What are ruffini cylinders responsible fro?

A

perceiving STRETCHING of the skin

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22
Q

when do pacinian corpuscles fire?

A

when stimulus first applied and when it is removed (RA2)

23
Q

What is pacinian corpuscle responsible for?

A

sensing rapid VIBRATIONS and FINE TEXTURE

24
Q

What is a major challenge for cutaneous senses?

A

distance the signals from these receptors must travel to the brain (vs localized receptors in eye, ear, etc.)

25
Where do cutaneous signals enter the CNS?
dorsal root
26
Where do cutaneous senses synapse in the thalamus?
ventrolateral nucleus
27
TRUE or FALSE: cutaneous senses are ipsilaterl
FALSE: contralateral
28
What are the 2 major pathways for cutaneous senses?
1. medial lemniscal pathway 2. spinothalamic pathway
29
Describe the medial lemniscal pathway.
LARGE fibers that carry PROPRIOCEPTIVE and TOUCH info, and send HIGH-SPEED signals
30
Describe the spinothalamic pathway.
SMALL fibers that carry TEMPERATURE and PAIN info
31
Describe the pathway of somatosensory signals from the thalamus to the somatosensory cortex.
thalamus --> parietal lobe --> S1 --> S2 --> other areas for somatosensory perception
32
Plasticity in neural functioning leads to __________.
multiple homunculi and changes in how cortical cells are allocated to body parts
32
What is tactile acuity typically measured?
- two-point threshold - grating acuity
33
what is 2-point threshold?
minimum separation needed between 2 points to perceive them as being separate/distinct
34
What is grating acuity?
placing a grooved stimulus on the skin and asking the participant to indicate the ORIENTATION of the grating
35
What is raised pattern identification?
raised patterns (like Braille) to determine SMALLEST SIZE that can be identified
36
How fast can Braille readers read?
100 words/minute
37
TRUE or FALSE: the firing pattern of Merkel receptors corresponds better with the grooved stimulus than pacinian receptors
TRUE
38
_____________ receptors are densely packed on the fingertips (similar to cones in the fovea)
merkel
39
TRUE or FALSE: more narrow spacing between receptors results in better acuity
TRUE
40
receptor density is the same across all fingertips, though some fingers have more sensitive tips. What does this suggest?
other factors can mediate sensitivity...BODY AREAS WITH HIGH ACUITY HAVE LARGER CORTICAL TISSUE DEVOTED TO THEM
41
TRUE or FALSE: areas with higher acuity tend to have larger recepti ve fields on the skin, as well as larger representation in RA2
FALSE: high acuity, small receptive fields, S1
42
Areas with higher acuity tend to have smaller receptive fields on the skin, as well as larger representation in S1. How is this consistent with behavioural results?
two-point threshold
43
What is a corpuscle?
- minute body or cell in organism surrounding Pacinian receptors - responsible for response to vibration
44
Describe a corpuscle? What does it transmit?
- transmit repeated pressure (like vibration) to the actual receptor, not continuous pressure - onion - layers with fluid between each layer
45
TRUE or FALSE: the corpuscle only transmits continuous pressure
FALSE: only REPEATED pressure (like vibration)
46
What is surface texture?
physical surface created by peaks and valleys on a given material
47
How does visual inspection lead to inaccurate perception of texture?
when illumination is inconsistent, texture appears variable
48
what are 2 cues that perception of texture depends on?
- spatial cues - temporal cues
49
How are spatial cues determined? Example?
- by size, shape, and distribution of surface elements - e.g. large bumps or grooves that may be visible, which can be felt simply by pressing one's skin against the material
50
How are temporal cues determined? example?
- by the RATE OF VIBRATION as skin is moved across finely textured surfaces - e.g. finer textures, like sandpaper, which require movement across the skin to be accurately perceived
51
What are the 2 conditions that Hollins et al. 2001 adapated skin?
1. 10 Hz stimulus for 6 mins to adapt Meissner corpuscle (respond best to LOW frequency) 2. 250 Hz stimulus for 6 mins to adapt Pacinian corpuscle (response best to HIGH frequency)
52
TRUE or FALSE: Meissner corpuscle receptrs mediate temporal cues in sensing fine texture
FALSE: Pacinian corpuscle

PSYCH 367 (22 decks)

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