Touch & Pain Flashcards
What is the primary function of touch?
Touch provides our first contact with the world and is crucial for active exploration
Touch includes various sensations such as touch, temperature, and pain.
What are the different types of somatosensory receptors mentioned?
The types of somatosensory receptors include:
* Meissner’s corpuscles
* Merkel’s disks
* Ruffini endings
* Pacinian corpuscles
These receptors are embedded in the skin and respond to different aspects of touch.
What is a receptive field?
A receptive field is the area of skin over which each individual receptor responds
Pacinian corpuscles have larger receptive fields than Meissner’s corpuscles.
How do touch receptors send information to the brain?
Touch receptors send impulses along sensory nerves that enter the dorsal roots of the spinal cord
The axons connecting touch receptors are large myelinated fibres that convey information rapidly.
True or False: The right side of the body is represented in the left hemisphere of the brain.
True
This crossing of nerves occurs in the spinal cord.
What experiment can test differential sensitivity across the body?
The two-point discrimination test
It involves using paper clips to see if one or two points of contact are felt.
What is the sensory homunculus?
The sensory homunculus is a distorted representation of the body surface in the somatosensory cortex
It reflects the density of sensory receptors across different body parts.
Fill in the blank: The ability to perceive fine detail is most highly developed in the _______.
[tips of the fingers and lips]
What role does active exploration play in the sense of touch?
Active exploration is crucial for discriminating fine differences in texture
It involves the interaction between sensory and motor systems.
What are the two classes of peripheral afferent fibres that respond to noxious stimuli?
The two classes are:
* Aδ fibres (myelinated)
* C fibres (non-myelinated)
Both sets of nerves enter the spinal cord to convey pain information.
What are nociceptors?
Nociceptors are receptors that respond to harmful stimuli, such as intense heat or mechanical damage
They play a key role in the sensation of pain.
What is hyperalgesia?
Hyperalgesia is the phenomenon of enhanced pain sensitivity, where the pain threshold is lowered
It can result in increased pain intensity and wider pain areas.
What is the function of endogenous analgesics?
Endogenous analgesics suppress pain sensation under conditions of likely injury
They are released during stressful situations, such as in battle.
Fill in the blank: The anterior cingulate cortex is activated during the experience of _______.
[pain unpleasantness]
What did research on acupuncture reveal about its mechanism?
Acupuncture triggers the release of endogenous opioids, such as endorphins
Different frequencies of stimulation activate different opioid systems.
How does pain contribute to learning?
Pain enables us to learn to avoid situations that give rise to pain
It initiates automatic protective reflexes and informs future behavior.
What is the role of the somatosensory cortex in pain perception?
The somatosensory cortex processes the localization of pain
It is activated during changes in experienced pain intensity.
