Week

6
Neuroscience Notes
Somatosensory Processing

Sensation Types: NB: Sensations are initiated by RECEPTOR ACTIVATION.
- Tactile:
o Touch
o Vibration
o Stretch
o Pressure
o Itches
- Temperature:
o Hot/Cold
- Pain:
o AKA: ‘Nociception’
- Proprioception:
o Sensing the position of the body in space.
- Visceral:
o Blood Pressure
o pH
o O 2
o CO2

Sensory Receptors:
What Are They?
- Specialized Nerve Endings that monitor & respond to the Environment.
Classification – Based on 3 Things:
- 1. Physical Location:
o Exteroceptors - Located in Skin (Respond to External Stimuli)
o Interoceptors - Located Viscerally (Respond to Internal Stimuli)
o Proprioceptors - Located in Muscle/Bone/Tendon
- 2. Type of Stimulus:
o Mechanoreceptors - Respond to Physical Forces
o Thermoreceptors - Respond to Temperature
o Nociceptors - Respond to Damaging Stimulus
o Chemoreceptors - Respond to Chemicals (Smell/Taste OR Blood O2/CO2/H+)
o Photoreceptors - Respond to Light (Eyes)
- 3. Receptor Structure
o Simple - Naked (“Free”) Nerve Endings (Pain & Temperature)
o Complex - Structurally Elaborate Nerve Endings (Pressure,Vibration, Stretch)
(Enhances Specificity)
NB: Q – Why are Pain Receptors ‘Simple’?
A – Pain, a basic survival mechanism would have been first to evolve and its receptors have been sufficient
since. Hence there has been no need for pain receptors to evolve further.

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Receptor Types:

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Receptor Transduction:
- Receptors respond to Stimuli by Transducing them into Electrical Signals
- These ‘Electrical Signals’ = Ion Movements across the Membrane à Changes Membrane Potential
o These Changes in Membrane Potential are Graded – IE. Stimulatory or Inhibitory (Depol/Hyperpol)
o These Graded Potentials at the Receptor Level = “Receptor Potentials”

- “Receptor Potentials” may summate to Threshold à Initiating an Action Potential
o These Action Potentials at the Receptor Level = “Generator Potentials”

Receptors: Nature of Activity:
- When Are They Active?
o Tonic Receptors:
§ Continually Firing
§ – Eg. Proprioceptors
o Phasic Receptors:
§ Fire only with a Change in the Environment.
§ – Eg. Thermoreceptors
- When Do They Inactivate? (How Quickly do they “Adapt”?):
o NB: “Adaptation” = Time Taken for receptor to Stop Firing during Sustained Stimulation
§ RARs – Rapidly Adapting Receptors:
• Receptor quickly stops firing under continuous stimulus
• - Eg. Touch Receptors (Can’t feel clothes after a while)
§ SARs – Slowly Adapting Receptors:
• Receptor maintains firing under continuous stimulus
• - Eg. Muscle Stretch Receptors (Proprioceptors)

Receptive Fields:
- A Receptive Field: The Area Monitored by 1x Receptor.
o Ie. Touch anywhere in that field, the sensation will come from the entire receptive field.

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 - Large Receptive Fields:
o Low Receptor Density
o Poor Localisation
o – Eg. Skin on your Back

- Small Receptive Fields:
o High Receptor Density
o Good Localisation
o – Eg. Skin on your Fingertips
o NB: 2 Point Discrimination is best with Small, Dense Receptor Areas

Somatosensory Pathways:
- First Order Neurons (Peripheral Afferent Nerves):
o (Eg. Dorsal Root of Spinal Nerves & Sensory Cranial Nerves)
o Sensory info is “Frequency Coded”.
o Enter Spinal Cord via Dorsal Nerve Root à Terminate in Dorsal Horn.
o NB: Cell-Bodies of the Pseudounipolar-Neuron Receptors culminate in the Dorsal Root Ganglion

o Vary by Diameter & Myelination – Affects Speeds of Conduction & Therefore type of Sensory Info:
§ Larger + Myelinated = Fastest
§ Smaller + Non-Myelinated = Slowest

NB: Proprioceptors are FAST to Ensure FINE MOTOR CONTROL.
NB: There are 2 Types of Pain Receptors – The Fastest is responsible for the Initial (Sharp) Pain
– The Slowest is responsible for the Dull Ache that follows.

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- Second Order Neurons (Ascending Pathways of Spinal Cord):
o Once inside the Spinal Cord, 1st-Order Neurons à Synapse with 2nd-Order Neurons
o 2nd-Order Neurons:
§ Often responsible for Decussation (Crossing of Fibre-Tracts to the Other Side of the Body)
§ Different 1st-Order Neurons à Synapse with different 2nd-Order Neurons.....
• Therefore, Different Sensory Info takes Different Ascending Pathways to the Brain.

- Third Order Neurons:
o NB: 3rd-Order Neurons are only Relevant to the Posterior Column & The SpinoThalamic Pathways.
§ The SpinoCerebellar Pathway terminates in the Cerebellum with 2nd-Order Neurons.
o Carry Sensory Info from Thalamus à to Primary Somatosensory Cortex in Parietal Lobe.
§ Thalamus – Sorts incoming Sensory Info à Sends it to Cortex.

(The Dark Blue Area)

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The 3 Ascending Pathways:
- Posterior Column Pathway:
o Synapses with 2nd-Order Neurons in
Medulla
o Decussate in the Medulla
o Neurons Are:
§ Large & Myelinated
§ Rapidly Adapting
o Sensory Info:
§ Touch
§ Vibration
§ 2-Point Discrimination
§ Proprioception













- SpinoThalamic Pathway:
o Synapses with 2nd-Order Neurons in
Spinal Cord @ Level of Spinal Root
o Decussate in Spinal Cord @ Level of
Spinal Root.
o Neurons Are:
§ Small & Myelinated
§ Slowly Adapting
o Sensory Info:
§ Crude Touch & Pressure
§ Pain
§ Temperature

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 - SpinoCerebellar Pathway:
o Synapse with 2nd-Order Neurons in Spinal Cord
o Doesn’t Decussate – Remains Ipsilateral
§ (“On the Same Side of the Body”)
o Neurons Are:
§ Large & Myelinated
§ Slowly Adapting
o Sensory Info:
§ Proprioception from:
• Muscle Spindles
• Golgi Tendon Organs
• Joint Capsules
§ à Coordinate Skeletal Muscle Activity













Somatosensory Processing:
- Somatosensory Cortex:
o Roles:
§ Detection of Sensation & Conscious Awareness of Sensation
§ Feature/Quality Recognition (ie. Texture/Size/Shape)
o Exhibits ‘Somatotopy’ (Body Mapping)
§ – ie. Specific Cortical Areas responsible for Particular Body Regions
o Receptor Density in a Body Region determines the Size of the respective Cortical Area. – See Below:

- Somatosensory Association Area:
o The Somatosensory Cortex has Connections to the Somatosensory Association Areas
o Role:
§ Compares Received Stimulus to Past Experiences.

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