Week 2: Lesions Understanding Flashcards
Function of autonomic nervous system
- Regulate homeostasis
- Circulation, respiration, digestion, metabolism, secretions, body temp, reproduction
Where do autonomic afferents originate from?
Viscera
Where do autonomic efferents go?
Motor to smooth muscle, cardiac muscle, or glands
What kind of efferents are there in the autonomic system?
- Sympathetic
- Parasympathetic
Types of receptors
- Mechanoreceptors
- Chemoreceptors
- Nociceptors
- Thermoreceptors
Mechanoreceptors
- Pressure sensors
- Stretch sensors
Pressure sensors
- Baroreceptors (in aorta and carotid sinus)
- Lungs
Stretch sensors
Veins, bladder, intestins
Chemoreceptors
Sensitive to chemical concentration
Types of chemoreceptors
- Carotid and aortic bodies
- Medulla
- Hypothalamus
- Taste buds
- Olfactory bulbs
Carotid and aortic bodies
Sense oxygen levels
Medulla
Sense hydrogen ion levels and CO2 to help w/ respiration
Hypothalamus
Response to blood glucose and electrolyte concentration
Nociceptors
- Sense damage or threat of damage
- Found in viscera and arterial walls
Thermoreceptors
- Temperature
Thermoreceptors in hypothalamus
Blood temperature
Cutaneous thermoreceptors
External temperature changes
Routes for afferent pathways
- Spinal cord via dorsal roots
- Brainstem via cranial nerves
Where do the cranial nerves send viscceral info?
To the solitary nucleus (main visceral sensory nucleus)
Where does the solitary nucleus send info?
- Pons, medulla (for visceral control)
- Hypothalamus, thalamus, and limbic systems (modulatory control)
What do visceral afferents synapse with?
- Visceral efferents (autonomic reflexes)
- Neurons that ascend to brainstem, hypothalamus, and thalamus
Visceral nociceptive afferents also connect to what?
- Somatosensory nociceptive tract neurons (referred pain)
- Somatic efferents (muscle guarding)
