somatosensation Flashcards
what modalities do free nerve endings detect?
nociception, temperature, crude touch.
name 2 deep and 2 superficial mechanoreceptors?
deep-pacinian and ruffini
superficial - meissner and merkel also free nerve ending.
what type of axons carry mechanosensation?
A-beta
where do the mechanoreceptor axons from skin synapse?
in the spinal cord onto 2nd order neurons in laminae 3-5 of dorsal horn.
what tract do the mechanoreceptor axons constitute? and where are the synapses?
dorsal column tract, they synapse in gracile and cuneate nuclei in caudal medulla, then medial lemniscus decussation, ascend and synapse in VPL thalamus. then to cortex.
where do the trigeminal nerve fibres synapse? name all.
first at principle sensory nucleus of trigeminal, then decussate in the medial lemniscus with the other fibres from dorsal column, form trigeminal thalamic tract, ascend and synapse again in VPM of thalamus. then to the S1.
what part of thalamus is responsible for projecting to somatosensory, motor, cingulate, parietal and temporal, prefrontal, auditory and visual cortex?
VPL,VPM VA,VL ANTERIOR NUCLEUS PULVINAR DM MGN LGN
what are the divisions of VP thalamic nuclei?
core region-specific for somatosensory
shell region-proprioceptive (VPS)
what are the specific parts of S1 targeted by VP nuclei?
tactile/core from VPL-3b
proprioception from VPS-3a
what are the somatosensory association areas?
parietal operculum(S2) which is deep to lateral sulcus, posterior parietal cortex (5 and 7)
where do the somatosensory info from face and lower limbs mapped onto S1?
medial s1-lower limb and genitals (VPL)
lateral S1-face, tongue (VPM)
In what level do the thalamic projections from somatosensation terminate in the S1?
layer IV.
what sensory modality do areas 1 and 2 transmit?
1-texture, massive input from 3b
2-hand posture, grip, assessing the shape and size of objects, input from both 3b and 3a.
what is a difference in s1 and s2 in terms of input receiving?
s1 is contralateral , s2 is bilateral.
where does S2 also project?
to prefrontal cortex, indicative of memory formation for first stimulus.