Somatosensory System Essay

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.

Pertaining to the peripheral nervous system, it is found the sensory division of it. The neurons that form this division, also called afferent neuron, transmit electrical impulses from several receptors located throughout the body to the central nervous system in order to further analyze and process the stimuli.

The difference between sensory and perception is that sensation focuses primarily on how a person reacts to a certain stimulus by a certain sense organ. For example, whenever a person smells perfume (the stimulus) the nose (sense organ) picks up the smell of the perfume. Perception on the other hand relates more to how the person interprets the specific stimuli. For example, the perfume that was sensed by the nose would be processed and identified if it is recognized as a familiar smell.

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)

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

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).

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

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

Describe sensory processes (hearing, vision, touch, taste, smell, vestibular, kinesthesis, pain), including the specific nature of energy transduction, relevant anatomical structures, and specialized pathways in the brain for each of the senses.

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.

Sensory processing develops naturally and is done without effort (What is, n.d., para 2). The brain’s “ability to process and organize sensations begins to emerge in the womb and continues into adolescence” (Bolles, 2001). “The human body takes in sensory input from several different sensory systems, organizes it in the brain for functional use, and then sends out signals to the rest of the body to activate” adaptive response (An Introduction, 2014). There are eight sensory systems found in the human body (SPD, n.d, para 1). Five of the eight sensory systems are known as the

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

The somatosensory cortex is a segment of cerebrum that oversees real sensations, both proprioceptive sensations (vibes of development or the body's situation in space) and cutaneous sensations (those of weight, vibration, touch, and so forth). Past to the new work, neural inserts focusing on comparable mind regions dominatingly delivered sensations, for example, shivering or humming in the hand. The Andersen lab's embed can deliver significantly more common sensation by means of intracortical incitement, similar to sensations experienced by the patient preceding his damage.

The purpose of this lab was to determine which regions of the body have the most touch receptors and in turn which regions of the body have the greatest representation on the somatosensory cortex map. The somatosensory cortex map is located in the parietal lobe and processes tactile information (D. Purves, Augustine, & Fitzpatrick, 2001). According to Neuroscience 2nd edition, the increased representation of specific body areas in somatosensory cortex map is a function of evolution (D. Purves, Augustine, & Fitzpatrick, 2001). To determine the regions of the body with the greatest representation on the somatosensory cortex map a two point discrimination test was selected. This test has been used to measure tactile spatial acuity

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