Somatosensory System Flashcards
Modality: Touch, Sensed Stimuli:
Contact with body surface
Modality: Pain, Sensed Stimuli:
Tissue damage
Modality: Hearing, Sensed Stimuli:
Sound vibrations in the air
Modality: Vestibular, Sensed Stimuli:
Head movement and orientation
Modality: Joint, Sensed Stimuli:
Position and movement
Modality: Muscle, Sensed Stimuli:
Tension
Modality: Vision, Sensed Stimuli:
Photons from light sources or reflected from sources
Modality: Smell, Sensed Stimuli:
Odorant chemicals in the air
Modality: Taste, Sensed Stimuli:
Substances on taste receptors
Somatosensory System Pathway
- Somatosensory afferent neurons convey information from the skin surface via sensory ganglion cells
- Via sensory ganglion cells, information goes to the dorsal horn of the spinal cord
- Information from the dorsal horn ascends to the sensory cortex
Dorsal root ganglion
Ganglion cells carrying sensory neural information from the body
Cranial nerve ganglion
Ganglion cells carrying sensory neural information from the brain
Dorsal horn
A division of the spinal cord gray matter where the first synapse of the system occurs
Sensory transduction
Conversion of stimulus energy to that of an electrical energy
Merkel’s Disc
Nerve endings that respond to light touch and skin indentation with high tactile acuity for an object’s physical features
Meissner’s Corpuscles
Skin receptor cell that responds to low frequency vibrations and fine touch
Ruffini Corpuscle
Skin receptor cell that responds to gradual skin stretching and recognize hand/ finger position
Pacinian Corpuscle
Skin receptor cell that responds to high frequency vibration and sudden deep pressure