Sensory Processing

Question 1

Nociceptive pathway

Answer 1

Pain perception and temperature pathway

Question 2

Mechanosensation pathway

Answer 2

touch

Question 3

Pacinian corpuscle

Answer 3

trough mechanical simulation ion-channels open up -> Na+ enter the membrane and caused depolarization -> action potential

Question 4

Tonic receptors

Answer 4

fire as long as the stimulus is there (pressure)

Question 5

Phasic receptors

Answer 5

rapidly adapt to a constant stimulus and turn off. They fire once more when the stimulus is off -> getting used to constant pressure on skin.

Question 6

Adaptation in retina

Answer 6

photoreceptor adapt to the picture

Question 7

Range fractionation

Answer 7

integration of the information from different receptors. This is needed because a cell can’t cover the all range with a single perceptor

Question 8

Receptive field

Answer 8

• Touch outside of receptive field has no effects (spontaneous activity)
• Touch in the centre of the receptive field excites
• Touch in surround inhibits

Question 9

Plasticity of somatosensory representation

Answer 9

some neurons get more connectivity from the lower area

Question 10

Thalamus

Answer 10

important for up-down feedback -> station that amplify information

Question 11

A receptive field is?

Answer 11

region in sensory space that changes firing rate of neurons

Question 12

Neural adaptation

Answer 12

decrease of firing as stimulus continues

Question 13

Neural plasticity in cortical maps

Answer 13

change of mapping of sensory periphery to cortex

Question 14

Primary sensory cortex

Answer 14

receive most direct sensory input from thalamus. Olfactory don’t pass through the thalamus