neuro exam 2 Flashcards
what is the passageway of information after an action potential in the peripheral axon
axon of afferent neuron > cell body in DRG > p. horn SC > ascending tract > thalamus > primary sensory cortex for interpretation
what does temporospatial summation mean
the stimulus was strong enough to generate an action potential in the peripheral axon
def superficial/cutaneous sensations
info from skin and subcutaneous tissue= touch, temperature, pain
discriminative touch
light, can sense superficial vibration and pressure, can determine the form, texture and shape of what is touching
crude/coarse touch
localized touch that includes tickle, itch, sexual sensation
temperature in somatosensory system includes
ability to sense relative temperature and changes to temperature
pain in somatosensory system perception
any noxious sensation ex) dull, local, burn, stab
fast pain vs slow pain
instant, sharp, localized vs dull, difused, not localized
3 examples of deep sensations of proprioception
joint position sense, kindesthesia, deep vibration (tuning fork)
cortical fine/light tough sensations includes
2 point discrimination, bilateral simultaneous stimulation, graphesthesia, localization of tough
why is cortical touch important
necessary to have fine touch to be able to interpret= cortical
2 point discrimination
the ability to discern whether 2 nearby objects touching the skin are truly 2 parts not one
how does 2 point discrimination differ from normal touch
finer sensation is required to be better at detecting the stimulus and interpreting the difference between 2 spots
bilateral simultaneous stimulation
ability to determine that two simultaneous stimulations are being applied to the opposite side of the body
if someone had poor/absent bilateral simultaneous stimulation where would the problem be in the brain
damage to cortex b/c that’s what interprets the sensations > won’t be able to feel the sensation bilaterally if this is the case
tactile extinction
inability to recognize two simultaneous stimuli on opposite sides of the body/proximally/distally even though the stimuli can be sensed alone
graphesthesia
ability to recognize writing on the skin by touch
localization of touch
knowing where the touch is felt and being able to identify it
if a patient has the sensation but can’t interpret it correctly where is the deficit
in the cortex on the opposite side of the brain
stereognosis
ability to recognize the form of objects by touch > needs light tough and conscious proprioception to achieve this
barognosis
ability to tell what an object’s relative weight is > uses touch and proprioception
receptive field
region of space where presence of stimulus will alter firing of the neuron
what’s an example of a small receptive field
fingers and toes > have greater density for finer tuned sensation
tonic receptors
respond as long as stimulus is sustained
phasic receptors
adapt to a constant stimulus and stop responding > brief adapation
phasic receptors include
mechanoreceptors, chemoreceptors, thermoreceptors, nocioceptors
mechanoreceptors
respond to mechanical deformation of receptor > touch, pressure, stretch, vibration
chemoreceptors
respond to chemical released by cells due to injury and pain, involved in pain and itch senses ex) allergic response or inflammation
thermoreceptors
sense relative body temperature and changes to temperature
nocioceptors
respond to stimuli that threaten or damage tissue (noxious)
what are nocioceptors experienced as
just pain, not the sensation
superficial dermis receptors examples
merkel’s discs, meissner’s corpuscles, hair follicle receptors
superficial dermis receptors function
respond to very local information, these receptors are very dense in the fingers
merkel’s discs respond to
pressure, fine touch, superficial vibration in the skin
meissner’s corpuscles respond to
skin deformation, light touch, vibration
hair follicle receptors respond to
hair displacement
deep dermis/subcutaneous fine touch receptors function
provide information about larger body surface areas > proprioception
deep dermis/subcutaneous fine touch receptors examples
ruffini endings, pacinian corpuscles
ruffini endings respond to
detect skin stretch and contribute to proprioception
pacinian corpuscles respond to
touch and deep vibration that contribute to proprioception
what physiologically gives coarse touch throughout the skin
free nerve endings
how is thermoreception felt
free nerve endings adapt to maintained temperatures
2 types of nocioceptors
specific and polymodal
specific nocioceptors respond to
one type of stimulus ex) high intensity mechanical, thermal, chemical
specific nocioceptors produce what kind of pain
localized pain, transmitted rapidly through myelinated fibers (fast pain)
polymodal nocioceptors respond to
not specific, will respond to any high intensity mechanical, chemical, thermal stimulus
polymodal nocioceptors transmit what kind of pain
poorly localized, unmyelinated C fibers, long-lasting pain
muscle spindle made up of
mechanoreceptors: intrafusal fibers that respond to stretch of a muscle
what are the 3 parts of a muscle spindle
intrafusal muscle fibers, sensory afferents Ia and IIa, gamma motor efferent fibers
what ____fusal fibers actually cause muscle contraction
extrafusal
what is the function of intrafusal fibers
only contract at the ends, defines 2 types: nuclear bag (clump arranged) and nuclear chain (single file arranged)
type 1a afferent neurons= annulospiral
wrap around central region of intrafusal fibers
what do type 1a afferent neurons do
respond to rapid stretch and send info to p. horn of SC
what do type 2a afferent neurons do
respond to rapid and sustained stretch, aka flower spray
gamma motor neurons
maintain sensitivity of spindle to allow for stretch, causes ends of INTRAFUSAL to contract even when muscle is on slack
alpha motor neuron
sends message to EXTRAFUSAL fibers to prevent overstretching, allows antagonist to relax
golgi tendon organs
at musculotendinous junction, provide info about muscle tension to inhibit response to excessive tension
when the muscle contracts what happens to the GTO
collagen fibrils pulled right which activates 1b afferent neurons
what is autogenic inhibition
GTO causes muscle to inhibit itself and interrupt contraction thus causing muscle to relax
what do joint receptors respond to
mechanical deformation of ligaments and capsules
examples of joint receptors
ligament receptors, ruffini endings, pacinian corpuscles, free nerve endings
what is proprioception helpful with
detecting size, shape, weight of an object, barognosis, sterognosis
where do somatosensory fibers derive from cells
dorsal root ganglion
what does alpha beta nerve fiber carry
info related to touch and conscious proprioception
what nerve fibers carry info for unconscious proprioception
1a (muscle spindle), 1b (GTO), II (flower spray)
what info do alpha delta nerve fibers carry
fast pain, cool temp, noxious heat
are alpha delta nerve fibers myelinated or nonmyelinated
myelinated
are c nerve fibers myelinated or nonmyelinated
nonmyelinated
what do c nerve fibers carry
slow pain, warm temp, itch
what damage to nerves cause glove and stocking distribution
peripheral neuropathy
examples of glove and stocking distribution
diabetic, chemotoxic, alcoholic: all lead to sensory deficit
where are cell bodies of spinal cord primary neurons located
outside SC in dorsal root ganglion
what matter is rexed lamina
grey matter
how is rex lamina divided
function and sensory info arrives at specific areas
rexed lamina 2 also known as
substantia gelatinosa: important for pain sensation
noxious stimuli sensed where
posterior dorsal horn
what nucleus is involved with unconscious proprioception
clarke’s nucleus: posterior sprinocerebellar tract
what are the ascending tracts of spinal cord
conscious pathways, fine/coarse touch and proprioception
what is the pathway of unconscious proprioception
spinocerebellar pathways to cerebellum
what sensations are part of medial leminscal pathway
conscious proprioception, vibration, discriminative touch
first order neuron of medial leminscus pathway
ipsilateral posterior columns to posterior column nuclei in the medulla
medial portion of medial lemniscus pathway
gracile fasiculus: info from LE and trunk to nucleus gracilis
lateral portion of medial lemniscal pathway
cuneatus fasiculus: info from upper trunk
what tract does immediate: fast and localized pain go through
lateral spinothalamic tract
what order neurons are in the lissauer tract of the lateral spinothalamic tract
first order
where do second order neurons cross the spinal cord
anterior white commissure and ascend in the lateral spinothalamic tract
what part of the brain is the first to process and send off info to the brain
thalamus
what system does slow pain pass through
medial pain system
where does the spinomesencephalic tract pass
midbrain to periaqueductal gray
where does spinoreticular tract pass
reticular formation
where does spinolimbic tract pass through
thalamic nuclei
what info does spinocerebellar system provide
unconscious proprioception and mvmt related to the cerebellum
does the posterior spinocerebellar and cuneocerebellar pathway have ipsilateral or contralateral transmission
ipsilateral
what nuclei innervate the posterior spinocerebellar pathway
clarks nucleus aka nucleus dorsalis
posterior spinocerebellar pathway info from where
legs and lower body
cuneocerebellar pathways gets infro from
arms and upper body
what do these injuries of the spinal cord cause: 1. transection, 2. hemicord lesion, 3. anterior cord lesion, 4. posterior cord lesion, 5. central cord lesion
1.sensory loss modalities bilaterally below level of injury
2.ipsilateral loss touch and proprioception
3. bilateral loss of pain and temperature
4. bilateral loss touch and proprioception
5. upper extremity issues
where does the first stage of sensory integration and perceptual awareness occur
thalamus
where do thalamocortical projections travel
to primary somesthetic area in parietal lobe to the primary somatosensory cortex then to the secondary somatosensory cortex
how is the primary somatosensory cortex (SI) organized
sensory homunculus
what is secondary somatosensory area SII involved with
shape and texture discrimination, bilateral activities, graphesthesia
what brocas areas are involved with somatosensory association area
areas 5 and 7
where do the SI and SII converge
posterior parietal cortex
what causes unilateral neglect
large lesions of non-dominant hemispheres that can feel but not recognize self or objects on left side