Somatosensory and Pain - Kenyon Flashcards
What is the general function of primary afferent neurons?
Encode mechanical, chemical, or thermal stimulus into a receptor or generator potential
Are generator and action potentials the same
NO
Describe a generator potential?
small, graded, and NOT CONDUCTED.
Generator potential is equivalent to what type of post-synaptic event?
EPSP
Where are the cell bodies of PANs?
in the DRG
Are there synapses in the DRG?
Normally speaking, NO
Are there IPSPs or EPSPs in the DRG?
No, all electrical activity passes right through it
“A” fibers have a (large/small) diameter and conduct (fast/slow)
large, fast
C fibers are (large/small) diameter and conduct (fast/slow)
small, slow
C and A-delta conduct what signals?
Pain and temperature
which fiber type is the fastest and what type of signal does it carry?
A-beta; TVP
what are the slowest fibers?
C and A-delta
Does the fast/slow differentiation have any impact on actual ability to conduct?
NO
Do specialized receptors of PAN’s adapt to stimuli?
Some adapt quickly, some slowly, some not at all. Theyre the goldilocks bears of neuroscience.
In two-pt. discrimination, what happens as you move the points farther apart?
AP frequency from the central receptive field lowers while frequency increases in the lateral receptive fields
Describe the pathway taken for TVP and Pain and Temp from the body and back of head?
PAN’s to DRG to dorsal roots to dorsal column to medial lemniscus
Describe the path for TVP, pain, and temp, form the the face and teeth?
PAN’s to trigeminal ganglion
When axons enter the spinal cord, what types of events utilize the pathway that synapse in Rexed Layer 3 of the cord?
spinal reflexes: knee jerk, somato-somatic, viscero-somatic
When axons enter the spinal cord and branch without synapsing, what do these form?
The dorsal columns of he spinal cord
Lower limbs form what tract?
medial gracile tract
Upper limbs, trunk and neck form what tract?
lateral cuneate tract
With respect to dorsal column somatotopy, what body structures will be more lateral? More medial?
lateral: occiput and neck
medial: lower limb and trunk
Will we see facial innervation in the the somatotopy of the dorsal column?
No, that stuff goes through the trigeminal!
What is the effect on TVP of lesions in the dorsal column? what does this tell us about TVP fibers?
There is PARTIAL loss of TVP; dorsal columns are NOT the only pathway for TVP
Axons from the dorsal columns synapse with second order neurons in which nuclei?
gracile nucleus
cuneate nucleus
Is the information at the gracile and cuneate nuclei simply relayed or is it processed?
it is processed
The (blank) tract is the pathway in which axons go ventral and corss over to form the medial lemniscus
Internal Arcuate tract
Axons from the lower body end up (ventral/dorsal)
ventral
Fibers from the gracile or cuneate tracts synapse in the (blank or blank) nuclei
Gracile or cuneate nuclei
The gracile and cuneate nuclei are in which brain layer?
Caudal medulla
The internal arcuate tract connects the gracile and cuneate nuclei to the (blank)
medial lemniscus
Axons in the medial lemniscus synapse with third order neurons where?
Ventral Posterior Lateral nucleus of the thalamus
The VPL nucleus of the thalamus sends its fibers to what cortical structure and to which gyrus?
Post central gyrus of the primary sensory cortex
does the VP complex have all peripheral somatic sensory fibers?
yes!
Fibers from the trigeminal ganglion first enter at what brain level?
PONS
trigeminal fibers synapse at what nucleus in the Pons?
principal nucleus of trigeminal complex
Do fibers from the trigeminal travel on the medial or lateral lemniscus?
medial
Where does the crossing over ocurr in the trigeminal pathway?
After synapsing in the principal nucleus and meeting up with the medial lemniscus
Where does the crossing over occur in the somatosensory pathway?
In the caudal medulla, after synapsing in the gracile or cuneate nuclei and becoming the medal leminscus
Fibers in the trigeminal lemniscus synapse where in the brain proper?
VPM of the thalamus
Trigeminal fibers in the VPM travel to what cortical structure?
pimary somatic sensory cortex
With regard to the sensory cortex somatotopy, are structures of the face more medial or lateral?
lateral
what structures are most medial on cortical somatotopy?
Trunk, leg, feet, toes
the Ant. cerebral artery supplies what somatotopic structures?
tunk, leg, foot, and genitals
the middle cerebral artery suppplies what somatotopic structures?
arms, hands, face, tongue
Does the posterior cerebral artery supply any somatotopic structures?
noooooope
Is there anything coming out of the primary sensory cortex?
YES, DESCENDING branches going to the secondary sensory cortex
From the SII, to what brain structures do fibers go? What are their functions?
Limbic structures, amygdala, and hippocampus.
Involved in inhibitory pathways blocking out proprioception (not always aware of your shoes/socks), as well as tactile sensation and learning memory
Are there more ascending or descending axons?
Descending!
effective analgesic therapy increases the (blank) of life for pts with pain
quality
What three classes of drugs help with neuropathic pain?
- COX 2 inhibitors
- opioid analgesics
- adjuvant analgesics
What fraction of pts actually get adequate neuropathic pain relief from current treatments?
1/3
When processing pain in the sensory-discriminative model, in what nucleus do pain fibers synapse?
Ventral posterior (VP) nucleus
After hitting the VP, where does pain go for the sensory-discriminatory model?
Somatosensory cortex (SI, SII)
In the affective-motivational model, what are the two cortical areas that are acivated?
Anterior cingulate cortex and insular cortex
From what nuclei do you travel to reach the ant. cingulate cortex and the insular cortex?
midline thalamic nucleus
lesions in what thalamic nuclei cause complete loss of contralateral pain and temp?
ventromedial nucleus
What are the two ways of measuring pain?
Self-reporting or fMRI