Sensorimotor System Flashcards
1
Q
- a specialized cell that responds to a particular energy or substance in the internal or external environment and converts this energy into a change in the electrical potential across its membrane
A
receptor cell
2
Q
- a physical event that triggers a sensory response
A
stimulus
3
Q
- the concept that each nerve to the brain reports only a particular type of information
A
labeled lines
4
Q
- a local change in the resting potential of a receptor cell in response to stimuli, which may initiate an action potential
A
generator potential
5
Q
- the process in which a receptor cell converts the energy in a stimulus into a change in the electrical potential across its membrane
A
sensory transduction
6
Q
- a skin receptor cell type that detects vibration and pressure
- tiny onion-like structure embedded in the innermost layer of the skin
- acts as a filter
- vibrations only of 200 or more cycles per second to stimulate sensory nerve endings inside
- texture sensitivity
A
Pacinian corpuscle (lamellated corpuscle)
7
Q
- the stimulus intensity that is just adequate to trigger an action potential in a sensory cell
A
threshold
8
Q
- a skin receptor cell type that detects light touch, responding especially to changes in stimuli
- localized movement between the skin and a surface
A
Meissner’s corpuscle (tactile corpuscle)
9
Q
- a skin receptor cell type that detects light touch, responding especially to edges and isolated points on a surface
A
Merkel’s disc
10
Q
- skin receptor cell type that detects stretching of the skin
- sparsely distributed in the skin
movement of fingers or limbs
A
Ruffini corpuscle
11
Q
- an axon that terminated in the skin and has no specialized cell associated with it
- detect pain and/or changes in temperature
A
free nerve ending
12
Q
- set of specialized receptors and neural mechanisms responsible for body sensations such as touch and pain
A
somatosensory systems
13
Q
- stimulus region and features that affect the activity of a cell in a sensory system
- alters neuron’s firing rate
- differ in size, shape, and quality of stimulation that activates them
A
receptive field
14
Q
- progressive loss of receptor response as stimulation is maintained
- allows us to ignore unimportant events
A
sensory adaptation
15
Q
- receptor in which the frequency of action potentials drops rapidly as stimulation is maintained
A
phasic receptor
16
Q
- receptor in which the frequency of action potentials declines slowly or not at all as stimulation is maintained
A
tonic receptor
17
Q
- process in which higher brain centers, such as the cortex and thalamus, suppress more sources of sensory information and amplify others
A
central modulation of sensory information
18
Q
- somatosensory system that delivers most touch stimuli via the dorsal columns of spinal white matter to the brain
A
dorsal column system
19
Q
- strip of skin innervates by a particular spinal nerve
A
dermatome
20
Q
- brain region at the top of the brain stem that trade information with the cortex
A
thalamus
21
Q
- the region of cortex that receives most of the information about that modality from the thalamus
- located in the postcentral gyrus in each hemisphere (long strip of tissue that lies just posterior to the central sulcus dividing the parietal and frontal lobe)
- receives touch information from opposite side of the body
A
primary sensory cortex (S1)
22
Q
- the cortical regions receiving direct projecting from primary sensory cortex for that modality
A
nonprimary sensory cortex (secondary sensory cortex)
23
Q
- sensory areas in the brain that process a mixture of inputs from different modalities
A
association areas
24
Q
- a neuron upon which information from more than one sensory system converges
- allows different sensory systems to interact
A
polymodal neuron
25
Q
- condition in which stimuli in one modality evoke the involuntary experience of an additional sensation in another modality
A
synesthesia
26
Q
- the discomfort normally associated with tissue damage
A
pain
27
Q
- receptor that responds to stimuli that produce tissue damage or pose the threat of damage
A
nociceptor
28
Q
- receptor found in some free nerve endings that opens its channel in response to rising temperatures
A
transient receptor potential type M3 (TRPM3)
29
Q
- moderately large, myelinated, and therefore fast-conducting axon that usually transmits pain information
- action potentials in these fibers reach the spinal cord very quickly
A
A delta (A3) fiber
30
Q
- small, unmyelinated axons that conducts pain information slowly and adapts slowly
- posses TRPV1
A
C fiber
31
Q
- somatosensory system that carries most of the pain information from the body to the brain
- receives its input from the contralateral side of the body
A
anterolateral system (spinothalamic system)
32
Q
- peptide transmitter that is involved in pain transmission
- boosts pain signals and remodels pain pathway neurons
A
substance P
33
Q
- region of medical cerebral cortex that lies dorsal to the corpus callosum
- part of limbic system
- extent of activation correlates with how much discomfort different people report in response to the same mildly painful stimulus
- different subregions seem to mediate emotional versus sensory aspects of pain
A
cingulate cortex
34
Q
- pain that persists long after the injury that started it has healed
- ex. phantom limb pain
A
neuropathic pain
35
Q
- absences of or reduction in pain
A
analgesia
36
Q
- one of three kinds of endogenous opioids
- relieve pain sensations
A
endorphin
37
Q
- delivery of electrical pulses through electrodes attached to the skin, which excite nerves that supply the region to which pain is referred
- may bring dramatic relief lasting for hours
A
transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS)
38
Q
- potential antagonist of opiates that is often administered to people who have taken drug overdoses
- blocks receptors for endogenous opioids
A
naloxone
39
Q
- relief of a symptom that results following a treatment that is known to be ineffective or inert
A
placebo effect
40
Q
- the insertion of needles at designated points on the skin to alleviate pain or neurological malfunction
A
acupuncture
41
Q
- a single relocation of a body part, usually resulting from a brief muscle contraction
A
movement
42
Q
- a simple, highly stereotyped and unlearned response to a particular stimulus
A
reflex
43
Q
- complex behavior, as distinct from a simple movement
A
act
44
Q
- plan for a series of muscular contractions, established in the nervous system prior to its execution
A
motor plan
45
Q
- the electrical recording of muscle activity
A
electromyography (EMG)
46
Q
- a muscle that counteracts the effect of another muscle
A
antagonist
47
Q
- a muscle that acts together with another muscle
A
synergist
48
Q
- neuron that transmits neural messages to muscles (or glands)
A
motor neuron
49
Q
- the region where the motor neuron terminal meets its target muscle fiber
- the point where the nerve transmits its message to the muscle fiber
A
neuromuscular junction
50
Q
- neurotransmitter that is produced and released bu the autonomic nervous system, by motor neurons, and by neurons throughout the brain
A
acetylcholine (ACh)
51
Q
- the motor neurons of the brain and spinal cord, so called because they receive and integrate all motor signals from the brain to direct movement
A
final common pathway
52
Q
- body sense
- information about the position and movement of the body
A
proprioception
53
Q
- a muscle receptor that lies parallel to a muscle and sends impulse to the central nervous system when the muscle is stretched
- capsule buried within the other fibers of the muscle
contain intrafusal fibers
A
muscle spindle
54
Q
- any of the small muscle fibers that lie within each muscle spindle
A
intrafusal fiber
55
Q
- a type of receptor found within tendons that sends impulses to the central nervous system when a muscle contracts
- sensitive to muscle tension
- monitoring the force of muscle contractions
- provides second source of sensory information about the muscle
A
Golgi tendon organ
56
Q
- the contraction of a muscle in response to stretch of that muscle
A
stretch reflex
57
Q
- the motor system that included neurons within the cerebral cortex and their axons, which form the pyramidal tract
- consists of neuronal cell bodies within the frontal cortex and their axons, which pass through the brainstem
A
pyramidal system (corticospinal system)
58
Q
- motor system that includes the basal ganglia and some closely related brain stem structures
- axons of this system pass into the spinal cord outside of pyramids of the medulla
A
extra pyramidal system
59
Q
- the apparent executive region for the initiation of movement
- primarily the precentral gyrus
- major source of axons forming the pyramidal tract
- organized as a map of the contralateral side of the body
A
primary motor cortex (MI)
60
Q
- the strip of frontal cortex, just in front of the central sulcus that is crucial for motor control
A
precentral gyrus
61
Q
- frontal lobe regions adjacent to the primary motor cortex that contribute to motor control and modulate the activity of the primary motor cortex
- anterior to MI
emphasizes SMA and the premotor cortex
A
nonprimary motor cortex
62
Q
- region of nonprimary motor cortex that receives input from the basal ganglia and modulates the activity of the primary motor cortex
A
supplementary motor area (SMA)
63
Q
- region of nonprimary motor cortex just anterior to the primary motor cortex
- activated when motor sequences are guided by external events
A
premotor cortex
64
Q
- paralysis; the loss of the ability to move
A
plegia
65
Q
- muscular weakness, often the results of damage to motor cortex
A
paresis
66
Q
- an impairment in the ability to carry out complex movements, even though there is no muscle paralysis
A
apraxia
67
Q
- neuron that is active both when an individual makes a particular movement and when that individual make the same movement
A
mirror neuron
68
Q
- a genetic disorder, with onset in middle age, in which the destruction of nasal ganglia results in a syndrome of abrupt, involuntary writhing movements and changes in mental functioning
A
Huntington’s disease
69
Q
- a group of forebrain nuclei, including caudate nucleus, globus pallidus, and putamen, found deep within the cerebral hemispheres
A
basal ganglia
70
Q
- structure located at the back of the brain, dorsal to the pons, that is involved in the central regulation of movement and in some forms of learning
A
cerebellum
71
Q
- a loss of movement coordination, often caused by disease of the cerebellum
A
ataxia
72
Q
- difficulty of movement in which gestures are broken up into individual segments instead of being executed smoothly
- symptom of cerebellar lesions
A
decomposition of movement
73
Q
- a degenerative neurological disorder
- characterized by tremors at rest, muscular rigidity, and reduction in voluntary movement
- caused by loss of the dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra
A
Parkinson’s disease
74
Q
- a brainstem structure that is a major source of dopaminergic projections to the basal ganglia
A
substantia nigra
