Sensation Flashcards

1
Q

What does somatosensory mean?

A

From the body

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2
Q

What are the types of peripheral somatosensory receptors?

A
  • Muscle spindles (stretch, rate of movement)
  • Golgi tendon organs (tension)
  • Joint receptors (stretch, rate of movement)
  • Cutaneous receptors
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3
Q

What are the 3 types of cutaneous receptors?

A
  • Thermal (temp)
  • Nociception (pain)
  • Mechanoreceptors (light/firm touch, vibration)
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4
Q

What are the types of mechanoreceptors?

A
  • Pacinian corpuscles
  • Merkel’s disks
  • Meissner’s corpuscles
  • Ruffini endings
  • Lanceolate endings
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5
Q

What is the difference between myotome and dermatome?

A

Myotome: Muscles innervated by one nerve root
Dermatome: Area of skin innervated by one nerve root

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6
Q

What does postural control require?

A
  • Sensory info coming in
  • Processing of info at an automatic/cognitive level
  • Activating muscles an appropriate amount for the environment/task
  • Ability to rapidly modify the response
  • Learning & memory
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7
Q

What is the thalamus and where is it located?

A

Major processing centre of the brain, in the diencephalon

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8
Q

What somatosensory information is relayed to the somatosensory cortex via the thalamus?

A

Conscious sensation of touch, pressure, pain, temperature, vibration and proprioception

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9
Q

What somatosensory information is relayed to the cerebellum via the brainstem?

A

Unconscious sensation, e.g. position, movement

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10
Q

How does the visual system work?

A
  • Photoreceptors respond to light
  • Sensory info transmitted via optic nerve
  • Medial optic nerve fibres cross at optic chasm
  • Lateral optic nerve fibres remain on same side, forming optic tract
  • Optic tract carries info to lateral geniculate nucleus in thalamus
  • Info transmitted to primary visual cortex in occipital region
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11
Q

What are the afferent and efferent functions of the visual system?

A

Afferent: Provide sight & info about posture & body movement
Efferent: Eye movements

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12
Q

How can you test the afferent and efferent function of the visual system?

A

Afferent: Test pupillary reflexes, Snellan chart, visual fields
Efferent: Test eye movements

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13
Q

What does the vestibular system monitor?

A

Monitors changes in head position, movement and direction of gravity

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14
Q

Where are the vestibular system receptors located?

A

Within the inner ear

  • Utricle
  • Saccule (vertical/linear displacement, gravity)
  • Semicircular canals (direction, acceleration)
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15
Q

How is sensory info from the vestibular system transmitted?

A

By vestibular nerve to vestibular nuclei within brain stem and cerebellum

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16
Q

What is the function of the vestibular system?

A
  • Stimulates reflexes for equilibrium and gaze stabilisation
  • Coordinates balance
  • Contributes to positioning of head, postural adjustments, autonomic function & consciousness
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17
Q

How can the vestibular system be tested?

A
  • Vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (clicking sound while holding head up)
  • Neck muscle activity
  • Caloric test (response to water in ears)
  • Eye movements
  • Rotations tests
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18
Q

What are muscles spindles composed of?

A

Intrafusal muscle fibres (3 types):

  • Static nuclear bag
  • Dynamic nuclear bag
  • Nuclear chain (less elastic)
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19
Q

What are the two types of afferent neurons in muscle spindles?

A

Group Ia & Group II (cell bodies in dorsal root ganglion)

20
Q

Where are group Ia afferent neurons located and what do they detect?

A

Wrap around the middle of IF muscle fibres (bag and chain)

Sense rapid change in muscle length

21
Q

Where are group II afferent neurons located and what do they detect?

A

Wrap around the area just off the middle (mostly chain)

Less responsive to stretc

22
Q

What type of efferent neurons are located in muscle spindles?

A

Gamma motor neurons (dynamic & static)

23
Q

How does reciprocal innervation occur in a pain withdrawal reflex?

A
  • Afferent neurons conduct action potentials from receptors to spinal cord
  • Synapse with excitatory interneurons (withdrawal reflex)
  • Collateral branches of afferent neurons synapse with inhibitory interneurons
  • Inhibitory interneurons synapse with alpha motor neurons
  • Alpha motor neurons relax extensor muscles (reciprocal)
24
Q

What are the 3 ascending sensory spinal cord pathways?

A
  • Dorsal column/medial lemniscus
  • Anterolateral/spinothalamic
  • Spinocerebellar
25
Q

What sensations and receptors are associated with the dorsal column?

A

Sensations: Fine touch, pressure, vibration, conscious proprioception

Receptors: Sensitive mechanoreceptors

26
Q

What sensations and receptors are associated with the spinothalamic tract?

A

Sensations: Pain, crude touch, temp

Receptors: Nociceptors, mechanoreceptors, thermoreceptors

27
Q

What sensations and receptors are associated with the spinocerebellar tract?

A

Sensations: Unconscious proprioception

Receptors: Golgi tendon organs, muscle spindles

28
Q

How is the spinocerebellar tract different from the other 2 spinal cord pathways?

A

No 3rd order neuron, does not cross sides of the spinal cord

29
Q

What is the 1st order neuron for all 3 ascending sensory pathways?

A

Dorsal root ganglion

30
Q

Where does the dorsal column cross to the other side of the spinal cord?

A

At the 2nd order neuron, the nucleus cuneatus in the medulla

31
Q

Where does the spinothalamic tract cross to the other side of the spinal cord?

A

At the 1st order neuron, the DRG

32
Q

What is myelin and where is it produced?

A
  • A sheath made of a lipid layer that surrounds axons and facilitates fast signal conduction
  • Produced by Schwann cells in PNS
33
Q

What do myelinated nerves (type A) transmit?

A

Large fibres: Motor function, proprioception, touch, pressure, pre-ganglionic signals
Small fibres: Pain, temperature, crude touch

34
Q

What do unmyelinated nerves (type C) transmit?

A

Small fibres: Slowly transmit pain, touch, pressure, post-ganglionic signals

35
Q

What are the types of sensory neuron fibres?

A
  • A-alpha (I)
  • A-beta (II)
  • A-delta (III)
  • C (IV)
36
Q

What does the Nottingham assessment test?

A
Light touch
Pressure
Pinprick
Temperature
Tactile localisation
Bilateral simultaneous touch
Kinaesthetic sensation
Stereognosis
37
Q

What are the indications for neurological examination?

A
  • Spinal symptoms extending past the point of shoulder or buttock crease
  • Reports of altered sensation/weakness in the limbs
38
Q

What does neurological examination screen for?

A
  • Nerve conduction loss
  • PNS vs CNS involvement
  • Nerve root vs peripheral nerve injury/compression
  • Neural sensitisation
39
Q

What are the causes of nervous system disorders?

A
  • Trauma
  • Vascular disorders
  • Infections
  • Degeneration
  • Structural disorders
  • Other, e.g. tumours
40
Q

What are the injury-related sensation changes in the spinal cord, nerve root and peripheral nerve?

A

Spinal cord: Bilateral, non-dermatomal
Nerve root: Unilateral, dermatomal
Peripheral nerve: Unilateral, peripheral nerve

41
Q

What are the injury-related strength changes in the spinal cord, nerve root and peripheral nerve?

A

Spinal cord: Bilateral, non-myotomal
Nerve root: Unilateral, myotomal
Peripheral nerve: Unilateral, peripheral nerve

42
Q

What are the injury-related reflex changes in the spinal cord, nerve root and peripheral nerve?

A

Spinal cord: Bilateral increased, non-myotomal, +ve Babinski, clonus
Nerve root: Unilateral decreased, myotomal, -ve Babinski, clonus
Peripheral nerve: Unilateral decreased, peripheral nerve, -ve Babinski, clonus

43
Q

What is the nervi nervorum?

A

Nerve of the nerve, contained within the perineurium and epineurium

44
Q

What are 3 types of traumatic peripheral nerve injuries?

A
  • Neuropraxia
  • Axonotmesis
  • Neurotmesis
45
Q

What are the 2 types of pain?

A

Nociceptive: Pain signal transmitted to CNS following tissue injury

Neurogenic: Pain generated by nerve due to nerve injury