Somatosensation Flashcards
What is somatosensation
Sensation from skin & muscles
What is meant by high fidelity
Pathways with high fidelity have little divergence.
Which means it can create a localization to touch. (you know where someone touches you)
What is meant by somatotopical arrangement
Describes that the motor area of the brain and specific regions of the cortex are responsible for a specific body structure.
(in your brain, the motor area of your hand is next to the motor area of your fingers)
Spinothalamic pathway
a) type of neurons
b) type of sensations
c) what is the pathway
a) A delta and C fibers
b) PAIN and TEMP (can be localized)
c) CONSCIOUS
Purpose of the spinoreticular
Connects pain information with reticular formations
IMPACTS AROUSAL ATTENTION & SLEEP/WAKE CYCLES
Purpose of the Spinomesencephalic
Connects pain information with tracts arising from the midbrain to impact REFLEXIVE TURNING OF THE EYES AND HEAD TO A SOURCE OF PAIN
descending pain control system from periaqueductal gray
Purpose of the spinolimbinc
Projects to the thalamus and then to cortical areas for emotion, sensory integration, personality and movement
Arousal, autonomic, and affective responses to pain
What is the counterirritant theory of pain
Stimulation of mechanorecpetors/pathways cause the release of enkephalins in the dorsal horn
(hit your sin, then rub it to decrease pain)
Purpose of raphespinal & cereulospinal pathways
Modulate pain information coming into the dorsal horn
Nocioceptive pain
Continued stimulation due to trauma or disease (tumor)
Neuropathic pain
produces a pathological neural activity (CVA, Fribromyalga)
Function of the PSCT and CCT tracts
Cerebellar tracts- subconscious propioception & movement
PSCT-Lower body
CCT- upper body
(what happened)
Function of the ACST and RSCT
Feedback from your ventral horns regarding motor commands
ACST- lower body
RSCT- upper body
(What was meant to happen)
Where are the cell bodies of all somatosensory primary afferents
DRG
What is the impact of the release of prostaglandins from injured tissue in nocioceptors
Decreases the threshold of nociopceptors
you have a sunburn, light touch hurts you when it normally wouldnt
