Week 10 Flashcards
What are sensory afferents carried by
Ascending tracts
What’s carried by descending tracts
Somatic efferents and autonomic efferents
Somatic sensory afferents are carried by what ascending tracts
Lateral spinothalamic tract LSTT— carries pain and temp sensation
Dorsal column DC— fasciculus gracilis and the fasciculus cuneatus represent dorsal columns. Carry proprioceptor signals
Dorsal/ ventral spinocerebellar tract DSCT- conveys low range proprioceptive stimuli from receptors located in muscles tendons and joints of hindlimb
What separates the motor and sensory brain
Central sulcus
The pre central gyrus- commands motor control, in front of central sulcus, part of frontal lobe
The post central gyrus- commands sensory control, behind central sulcus and part of parietal lobe
Frontal lobe= motor
Parietal and occipital= sensory
Processing of sensory info
Spinal cord (dorsal horn)- medulla- thalamus- cerebral cortex
Sensation from head and neck is conveyed to brain largely by CNV and the C2 C3 spinal nerves
The first centre of the cerebral cortex to see sensory signals is the post central gyrus (primary sensory cortex)
A lesion at the post central gyrus will eliminate sensation
What are ascending tracts
Neural pathways located in the white matter that conduct afferent information from the peripheral nerves to the cerebral cortex
What are the 2 categories of sensations
Conscious sensation- pain, temp, crude touch (largely carried by LSTT)
Non-conscious sensation- tactile sensation, muscle length, tension, joint position etc
Impulses that give rise to conscious sensation are conveyed differently from those giving rise to non conscious sensation
What is the somatosensory system
All neurones of the brain and spinal cord that act to convey somatic sensation
The first stage of spinal sensation
Primary sensory neurones have their cell bodies in dorsal root ganglion. They have pseudo unipolar morphology
On reaching spinal cord, the axon of the primary sensory neurone then divides into 3 branches
Assuming the neurone is carrying T6 sensory signals
1 axonal process remains in dorsal horn of its respective spinal segment T6
One axonal process is sent to dorsal horn of spinal segment above and another sent to one below
The axonal segments travelling to spinal segments above and below travel in the Posterolateral tract of Lissauer
Sensory signals carried in these 3 branches are then processed by spinal cord in the same way
Variant where signals reach post central gyrus via spinothalamic tract
Pain and temp
The first sensory neurone carries signals to dorsal horn where it terminates by synapsing on a follower cell
A second order sensory neurone picks up the sensory signal then passes under the central canal to travel on opposite side spinal cord
It then ascends until reaches thalamus where it terminates by synapsing to third order sensory neurone, which axons ascend further to terminate in post central gyrus of cerebral cortex
Information is carried on the contralateral-> spinal cord, medulla, thalamus, cortex. Sensory info from right side of body is perceived by left brain
Variant 2 which signals reach post central gyrus via dorsal column
Proprioceptive and tactile info
Primary sensory neurone enters spinal cord
Neurone remains ipsilateral and ascends until level of medulla where it decussates to the contralateral side and then terminates in medulla
Second order neurone then travels in contralateral medulla, pons, midbrain and thalamus where it terminates
Third order neurone then ascends and terminates in the contralateral sensory motor cortex
At the spinal level transmission of sensory info is dissociated
Proprioceptive info from the right side is carried by right spinal cord
Pain and temperature from right side is carried by left spinal cord
All sensation then come together on same side at the medullary level and then travel together to the primary somatosensory cortex
Primary sensory cortex
Has full sensory representation of the body’s surface
The size of the body part does not equate to amount of primary sensory cortex that’s dedicated to it
Not isometric
Syringomyelia
Medial condition in which a CSF filled cyst forms within central canal of spinal cord = syrinx
Growth of cyst leads to damage of sensory fibres decussating under central canal
Results in anaesthesia- no pain reception at the level of certain parts
Primary motor cortex
Occupies the pre central gyrus frontal lobe
Voluntary motor commands of muscles are initiated by the primary motor cortex
Cortical representation of the motor system
Motor systems of the body: all neurones of the brain and spinal cord that act to produce movements
Voluntary motor commands are issued from the pre central gyrus of the cortex
These commands pass through the subcortical motor centres of the brain (thalamus, midbrain, brainstem, pons, medulla) and then descend the spinal cord via descending tracts eventually stopping at a ventral horn
Then exit the spinal cord and pass on to skeletal muscles
What are the two general classes of descending tracts
Both classes have their cell bodies in the brain
Cortical descending tracts- originate in the primary motor cortex- pre central gyrus. Pyramidal tracts
Non-cortical descending tracts- originate in subcortical areas of the brain e.g. thalamus, midbrain, pons, medulla, brainstem. extra pyramidal tracts
Pyramidal tract fibres are the
Upper motor neurons
lateral corticospinal tract
Ventral corticospinal tract
These have the same origin and end point
Directly innervate lower motorneurones in the anterior horn of spinal cord
extra pyramidal fibres are the
Upper motor neurones innervating lower motor neurones in anterior horn Spinal cord
Rubrospinal tract- this starts at level of brain stem from a nucleus known as red nucleus
The medullary reticulospinal tract
The pontine reticulospinal tract
Medial longitudinal fasciculus
Tectospinal tract