Somatic Sensation Flashcards
Speed of adaptation of Meissner’s corpuscle?
Complete and rapid
What happens to number of Meissner’s with age?
Declines
How many Meissner’s corpuscles does each axon branch innervate?
15
How many axon branches may each Meissner’s corpuscle contain?
3
What is Meissner’s stimulated by?
Sideways displacement of the skin - slipping?
What do Meissner’s show phase locking to?
Vibration frequency
Which fibres from Meissner’s corpuscles?
RA1
Size of receptive field of Merkel’s disc?
Small
Are Merkel’s rapidly or slowly adapting?
Slowly
Where are Merkel’s discs found?
Epidermal ridges of glabrous skin and touch zone of hairy skin
How are Merkel’s discs attached to epidermal keratinocytes?
Desmosomes
What do Merkel’s discs respond to?
Light steady pressure
What is the structure of a Meissner’s corpuscle?
Layers of Schwann cells with a perineural outer sheath
Where are Pacinian corpuscles found?
In the deep dermis of the glabrous skin between tendons and close to the periosteum
What are lamellae in Pacinian corpuscle for?
Act as mechanical filter which completely adapts under steady displacement
Which fibres do Pacinian corpuscles use?
RA2
What do Pacinian corpuscles detect?
High frequency vibration
How many nerve fibres supply each receptor?
One
What is Ruffini/Golgi tendon organ capsule divided into?
Compartments of endoneural connective tissue
Which fibres do Ruffini and Golgi tendon organs use?
SA2
How does tension activate Ruffini/Golgi tendon organ ?
Tension tightens the spirals and squashes the nerve endings
Which fibres respond to mechanical damage, heat and temperature?
Polymodal C fibres
Above which temperature is all fibres firing nociceptors?
46
What is background discharge of nociceptors?
None
Where are free ending intraepidermal?
Cornea, trachea and bronchi
Which fibres are labelled line?
Cold and hot
Why/where are gracile and cuneate ipsilateral?
Crosses over in brain not spine
Where does somatic signal go from VPN of thalamus?
SI and SII
Which parts of brain does somatic sensation go to?
Thalamus, reticular formation, PAG, amygdala, hypothalamus, superiory colliculus
Where does somatic sensation go from thalamus?
ACC, insula, SI
What is SI for?
Localisation of pain response
How is gate control theory involved in pain?
Descending influence on pain response from PAG
What is astereognosia?
can’t identify objects by touch
What is Pacinian receptive field like?
Large
How many receptors per afferent fibres are there in Pacinian corpuscle?
One
Speed of adaptation in Pacinian?
Rapid
What is the highest frequency Pacinian can reconstruct?
300-400Hz
How many Meissners converge to form 1 afferent?
Up to 20
Size of Meissners receptive field?
Small
How many receptors to one afferent in Merkels?
20