Processing of Somatosensory Input Flashcards
Define modality
The principal type of adequate stimulus that is transduced into an electrical signal by a primary afferent neuron
Receptors for touch, pressure, vibration, proprioception
Mechanoreceptors
Where are Merkel discs found grouped?
Iggo domes
Which receptor receives very rapidly adapting vibration stimuli ?
Pacinian Corpuscles
Which receptor responds to skin stretching ?
Ruffini endings
Which receptors responds to rapidly changing fine touch with a very small receptive field ?
(e.g. reading Braille)
Meissner’s corpuscles
What structure is found at the decussation of fibres?
Dorsal column
What is the major route by which touch and proprioceptive information ascends to the cerebral cortex ?
DCML (Dorsal column medial leminiscal) pathway
Capabilities of DCML pathway
Stereognosis
Vibration sensation
Fine touch (two-point discrimination)
Conscious proprioception
Weight discrimination
Where in the brain is the somatosensory cortex located?
Post-central gyrus of the parietal lobe
(directly posterior to the central sulcus)
Areas of the somatosensory cortex are known as …
Brodmann areas
