Somatosenses

Question 1

Three Somatosenses

Answer 1

cutaneous - skin
kinesthetic - body position
organic - internal organs

Question 2

Cutaneous

Answer 2

Pressure: deformation of skin
Vibration: moving skin over rough surface
Temperature
Pain - tissue damage

Question 3

Spinothalamic Pathway

Answer 3

sensory pathway from skin to brain

receptors on skin are stimulated → peripheral nerves send msg to dorsal portion of spinal cord → msg travels up spinal cord through the medulla where it decussates → thalamus → primary sensory cortex in the post central gyrus

Question 4

Spinothalamic Pathology

Answer 4

Disease to spinal cord: unable to feel below that point or is lateralized depending on side of lesion

Parietal lobe damage: may not feel one side of body if localized, signal travels up pathway but not received in cortex - DOUBLE SUPPRESSION TESTING

Question 5

Kinesthesia

Answer 5

Stretch receptors: report changes in skeletal muscle lengths
- exist in tendons and measure force exerted by muscles
Unconscious level

Question 6

Layers of the Skin

Answer 6

Epidermis
Dermis
Subcutaneous

Question 7

Role of Skin

Answer 7

1. protect from environment
2. Thermo regulation
3. Multiple types of receptors

Question 8

Habituation

Answer 8

moderate and constant stimulation eventually fails to produce a sensation
- evolutionary value
- attentional capacity

Question 9

Basic Pain Pathway

Answer 9

peripheral injury → release of prostaglandin → stimulation of nociceptors → pain impulses enter spinal cord at dorsal root → travels up spinal cord laterally on the spinothalamic tract → impulse sent to thalamus → RAF (arousal), Brain Stem (sleep), and Limbic (emo) → frontal lobe (cognitive perception of pain)