Somatosensory System Essay

The nervous system is a multiplexed body system that controls most other body systems directly or indirectly by sending and receiving signals through a complex system of nerves. As a whole, the nervous system can be broken down into the central nervous system (CNS) and peripheral nervous system (PNS). The CNS is composed of the brain and spinal cord while the PNS is composed of peripheral nerves that branch off of the spinal cord and continue to branch to reach the most distal points of the limbs. The PNS can be further broken down into the afferent and efferent division. The afferent division deals with information brought to the CNS from the nerve receptors. Furthermore, the afferent division breaks down into somatic sensory receptors whose

These receptors record on a extensive form of sensory modalities including changes in temperature, stress, touch, sound, mild, style, odor, physique and limb actions, and even blood pressure and chemistry. Scientists have recognized for nearly a hundred thirty years that distinct afferent nerve fibers of the peripheral nervous procedure are in contact with specialized non neural receptive buildings which realize and transmit sensory knowledge from the periphery to the Central Nervous System. The non neural receptive structure in conjunction with its afferent nerve fiber is mainly called a

p.483 The cell bodies of primary-order neurons or pain-transmitting neurons reside in the dorsal root ganglia just lateral to the spine along the sensory pathways that penetrate the posterior part of the cord. The second order neurons are found in the dorsal horn (p.484) Most nociceptive information tranvels by means of ascending columns in the lateral spinothalamic tract (also called the anterolateral funiculus). The principal target for nociceptive afferents is the thalamus (the major relay station of sensory information in general) Third order neurons project to portions of the CNS involved in the processing and interpretation of pain, the chief areas being the reticular and limbic systems and cerebral cortex. (p 484)

The components of the nervous system that are involved in the physical sensation is the peripheral nervous system, which is divided into two groups they are, sensory and motor divisions. The sensory impulse moves through the body by stimulating a receptor in the skin, and it goes through the sensory neurons and also travels through the afferent fibers, the spinal cord and also into the brain.

1. Neurons is a basic building block of the nervous system. The sensory nerves carry the message from body tissues to the brain and spinal chord to be processed. The motor neurons are then used to send instructions to the body tissue from the brain and spinal cord. Dendrites, which are connected to the body cell (soma) receive information and pass it through the axon. Myelin sheath covers the axon and helps speed the process. When triggered by a signals from our senses or other neurons, the neuron fires an impulse called the action potential. The resting potential is the neuron’s visual charge of positive

The basic function of sensory receptors is to respond to environmental stimuli and convert them into action potentials. The different types of receptors are: photoreceptors (respond to light), chemoreceptors (respond to chemicals), thermoreceptors (respond to temperature), pain receptors (respond to pain), and mechanoreceptors (all receptors that respond to mechanical energy, such as touch, pressure, stretch, hearing and balance).

Pain is processed by several parts of the brain, whereas the five senses are processed by specific areas in the brain. People also feel pain differently.

In the organization of the Human Nervous System it is divided into sections such as the sensory system, which gathers and process information from the surrounding environment: motor systems which responds from environment by sending signals and information to facilitate movement behavioral responses and the associational system which is a meditator from most multifaceted and least problematic brain functions. Within these different functions of the nervous system it is divided into two components where these functions can happen the central nervous system that comprises of brain and spinal cord and peripheral nervous system that embodies nerves and ganglia.

Transmission occurs when the action potential reaches the presynaptic terminal in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord. A-delta and C fibres release

The sensory receptor detects the presence of a stimulus in the skin, muscle, or other organ. The sensory neuron, which is also the afferent neuron, carries sensory information to the central nervous system. The integrating center is found only in gray matter of the central nervous system in the brain or spinal cord. This is where information is processed, and the motor command to stimulate the effector is initiated. The motor neuron, also called the efferent neuron, carries the motor command to the effector organ. Finally, the effector organ carries out the response to the stimulus, which may be to a muscle, gland or adipose tissue.

Everything we do is a product of neural communication, whether that be reacting to senses or feeling emotions, it is all due to us having neural communication through millions of neurons passing small electrical signals throughout the body through such pathways as the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system and passing information to and from the brain. These ‘’neurons’’ are made up of Dendrites which are connected to a cell body, or also known as the soma, these are tree-like feathery filament ‘’message receivers’’ that collect these messages from other neurons it is connected to, neurons are connected through a dendrite to axon terminal connections and pass these ‘’messages’’ through the body as action potentials.

The CNS contains the brain and spinal cord. Its main functions include: processing, integrating, and coordinating sensory information and motor instructions. The sensory data conducts information that is being processed from internal and external conditions the body is experiencing. Motor commands regulate and control peripheral organs (skeletal muscles). The brain functions under memory, emotions, learning, and intelligence. The PNS consist of the neural tissue found outside of the CNS. It functions in sending data to the CNS which motor commands are than carried out to the peripheral tissues/systems. Multiple nerve fibers send sensory data and motor commands in the PNS. The nerves that assist with transmitting data include the cranial nerves and spinal nerve. However, the PNS can be divided into afferent (to bring in) and efferent (to bring out) divisions of transferring data. The afferent division functions in bringing in sensory data to the CNS. Sensory structures are receptors that detect internal/external environmental change and adjusting accordingly. The efferent division functions in carrying out motor commands from the CNS to glands, muscles, and adipose tissue. The efferent division contains somatic

Mechanoreceptors are structures in the body that enable people to experience physical sensations. They feed perceptible data to the brain in order to be processed. There are several forms of mechanoreceptors, intended to sense diverse types of perceptible information, and these constitutions function in different ways. In disorders concerning sensory sensitivity, some people have issues with their mechanoreceptors or the nervous system does not transfer information normally from these structures to the brain (place reference here).

The peripheral nervous system (PNS) is connected directly to the central nervous system, and consists of neurons and nerves that send information back and forth the CNS. Furthermore, the peripheral nervous system can be divided into two sections, the sensory nervous system and the motor nervous system. The Sensory The sensory nervous system is in charge of transmitting data from a variety of internal organs or from external stimuli to the central nervous system using sensory nervous cells. On the other hand, the cells of the motor nervous system (motor neurons), take the impulse from the CNS to effectors, which include glands and muscles. In addition, the motor nervous system can be further divided into the somatic nervous system, controls voluntary actions of the skeletal muscle and external sensory organs, whilst the autonomic nervous system operates