Somatosensory Plasticity Flashcards
Where is the primary somatosensory cortex located
Post central gyrus
Representation in the somatosensory cortex
Head = medial
Legs = lateral
T/F: each sensory cortical neuron has a receptive field
True
Asking someone to identify common objects by holding and manipulating them without seeing them tests what
Stereognosis
Plasticity
The capacity of the nervous system to undergo change
Neural plasticity occurs via changes in what
Synaptic efficacy, neuron pathways/networks and behavior
Following hand amputation, when the face takes over the hand area the result may be what
Phantom sensation in hand when face is touched
Broadmann’s areas included in S1
3A, 3B, 1, 2
From closest to central sulcus to back of brain
Which nuclei in thalamus send projections to S1
VPM (info about face) and VPL (info about body)
What does it mean that S1 is somatopically organized?
Neurons arranged in order that corresponds to physical structures of the body
What is a receptive field?
Area on the body that causes neuron to fire
Do receptive fields become more simple or more complex in S1 compared to peripheral receptors?
More integrated and complex
Example of somatosensory plasticity and how manipulation changed S1
Animal with 2 fingers sewn together caused shared receptive field
Main drivers of plasticity
Development, experience, injury
Cortical magnification
Some parts of the body have larger representation in the brain than expected based on physical size
What is neural plasticity?
The capacity of the nervous system to undergo change
How plastic changes result
From any change to inputs of neural structures
