Spinothalamic Pathway Case Study

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 spinal cord is the final common pathway from the brain to the muscles. It controls all the sensory inputs received from different locations throughout the body. The spinal cord also controls voluntary muscle responses. Some elementary reflexes are local to the spinal cord, but voluntary muscle

Axons that decussate between the pyramids of the medulla oblongata belong to the ________ tracts.

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 cervical spinal nerve C3-5 innervate the phrenic nerve. These are the lower motor neurons.

The somatosensory system has to do with touch, pressure, pain, temperature, movement, and vibrations from muscles, joints, and skin. Uit sends sensations through the spinal cord, to the brainstem, then the thalamic relay nuclei to the parietal lobe that houses the sensory cortex.

The lateral corticospinal tract controls distal parts of the arms, hands, and fingers that are a part of the lower legs, feet and toes. Signals move down these tracts through a chain of events leading to the final common pathway. The primary motor cortex and supplementary motor cortex send their axons through the corticospinal tract. The axons then make their way through subcortical white matter to the ventral midbrain and enter the cerebral peduncles (in the medulla). Once the axons leave the peduncles, they form the pyramidal tracts. The fibers then cross over and descend to the contralateral spinal cord, consequently forming the lateral corticospinal tract. Other fibers, however, go through the ipsilateral spinal cord and form the ventral corticospinal tract. As the axons make their way down the lateral corticospinal tract, they form synapse with the lower motor neurons in the gray matter of the spinal cord. These lower motor neurons are what control the muscles of the arms, hands and

and the spinal rope and go to specific regions of the body. The peripheral nervous

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.

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 nervous system is home to two major compartments, the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system. The central nervous system includes the brain and spinal cord and the peripheral nervous system contains a total of 43 pair of nerves branching from the spinal cord that distribute signals to the entire body. The neurons that travel through those nerves are divided into two pathways, afferent and efferent. Afferent neurons travel up the spinal cord by entering through dorsal roots and head toward the brain. Efferent neurons do the exact opposite of afferent neurons and leave the spinal cord through ventral roots to take information to the body’s systems (Dowling, 2015). With the peripheral nervous system there are two subdivisions, the somatic system and the autonomic nervous system.

Pain in the central nervous system is a complex process that has been studied by many researchers. Pain is controlled by certain pathways in the CNS. One of these paths is descending serotonergic system (Millan, 2002). This route originated from the nucleus raphe Magnus (NRM). The main function of the NRM is mostly pain mediation; in fact it sends projections to the dorsal horn of the spinal cord to directly inhibit pain (Haines et al., 2013).

Within the human anatomy, an intricate and complex network of specialised nerve fibres and neurons works in collaboration with the central nervous system and peripheral system, designed to carry out the various actions humans perform every day. The nervous system is also known as the master control unit of the human body, as it operates other major functions such as the circulatory and respiratory systems (Jakab, 2006). It is composed of the central nervous system (CNS) and the peripheral nervous system (PNS). The neurons established within the various sections of the nervous system, is structured with three main parts: a dendrite which is a cluster of branches that operates by receiving information from the

The hypothalamus transmits nerve impulses that go through brain stem, spinal cord, and preganglionic sympathetic nerve fibers to adrenal medulla, then will

The Peripheral Nervous system controls the Cranial nerves and spinal nerves. In the division of the nervous system, there are four divisions in the peripheral, which are sensory division, motor division, somatic and autonomic. When the sensory division happens the sensory information gets picked up and is spread to the CNS. In the motor division, the motor division carries the information to the muscles and glands. The divisions that are dividing during the motor division are somatic and autonomic. The somatic division is responsible for the movement of the muscles in the skeletal system and the process known as the reflex arc (synapse of the spinal chord is where most sensory neurons pass through).