The Nervous System:

Sensory Pathways
William J. Babler, Ph.D.
September 24, 2021
 Pain

• How do you react to pain?

• Where does your brain process pain?

Nerve Pathways in the CNS and PNS

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Ascending Pathways
Sensory Information Transmission within the CNS
 Sensory Receptors
• Contact with the outside world is monitored
by sensory receptors
• Somatosensory
• Touch
• Proprioceptive
• Pain, temperature
• Interoceptive
• Internal events like blood pressure
 Somatic Sensory Pathways
Somatic Sensory Pathway characteristics:
– Three neurons in series
– Primary neuron is unipolar
– Primary neuron cell bodies are in ganglia – in PNS
– Axons are myelinated
– Axons of primary neurons travel in spinal and
cranial nerves
Somatic Sensory Pathways
 Spinal Cord - Ascending Tracts
• General Senses
• Crude touch involves a sense of contact with the
skin
• Tactile discrimination involves the perception of size
and shape of an object. Flutter and vibration are
important components of this type of sensation
• Proprioception is the awareness of limb position or
posture and sense of motion
• Pain can be sharp or dull, burning
• Temperature ranges from hot to cold
Spinal Cord - Ascending
Tracts

Sensory input to cerebral cortex

involves three neurons
 Basics to Understanding Sensory Pathways
• The primary neuron cell body of all sensory neurons is always located
in the spinal (dorsal root) ganglion on the same side as the sensation.
• The secondary neuron cell body is always located on the same side as
the sensation but its location varies depending on the type of
sensation
• For pain and temperature, it is located in the dorsal horn
• For tactile sensation and proprioception, it is located in the medulla oblongata
• Crossover always involves the axon of the secondary neuron
• The tertiary neuron of all sensations is always located in the thalamus
on the opposite side (contralateral) to the sensation
Sensory Pathways
 Spinothalamic
Tract

• Pathway for pain and

temperature
• Located on contralateral
side of the spinal cord
 Dorsal Columns
• Pathway for tactile
discrimination and
proprioception
• Located on same (ipsilateral)
side as sensation
• Contains axon of primary
neuron
• Note: Axon of the secondary neuron
travels in the Medial Lemniscus, a fiber
tract in the brainstem, to thalamus
 The Somatosensory Cortex
Where do the tertiary sensory neurons synapse in the
cerebrum?
 Thalamus
• Remember all secondary sensory
neuron fibers synapse with tertiary
sensory neurons in the thalamus
• Tertiary fibers (thalamocortical)
terminate in those parts of the
postcentral gyrus associated with
appropriate contralateral homunculus
allowing precise localization of stimuli.
 Sensory
Pathways

Post central gyrus-

primary sensory
cortex
 Sensory Pathways

Somatic Sensory
Homunculus

Sensory pathways
Conscious awareness
Primary Sensory Receptive Areas
• Somatosensory (Tacile and proprioceptive)
• Postcentral gyrus
• Parietal lobe
• Visual:
• Region of calcarine fissure
• Occipital lobe
• Auditory:
• Anterior transverse gyrus
• Temporal lobe
Brodman’s Areas and Function

Tactile

Visual

Auditory
 Parietal Association Areas
• Located between somatosensory and visual
areas
• Integrate information from both areas
• Convey signals to premotor and motor areas
• Connections also to prefrontal cortex and
limbic system mediate influences of emotions,
attention and motivation on behavior from
both sensory areas
 Pain and the Brain
• There are two types of pain:
• Fast: sharp, pricking type. Well localized.
• Slow: dull, burning type. Hard do localize. Results from tissue
damage.
• Fast pain and temperature travels from the thalamus to
the postcentral gyrus where they are precisely localized
and intensity perceived.
• There is no perception of pain associated with cortical
tissue damage in the postcentral gyrus
 Pain and the Brain
• Slow pain terminates in the frontal lobe and limbic
system where it influences cortical arousal (attention)
and affect (expression of emotions of anger, anguish,
depression, fear)
• Interneurons act to modulate secondary slow pain
neurons
• Analgesia center of brainstem can inhibit the
transmission of ascending pain impulses.
• Referred pain: usually visceral pain that radiates to
cutaneous nerves of the same dermatomes.
Prefrontal Cortex
Prefrontal Cortex
• Consists of large anterior portion of the frontal
lobe anterior to the motor and premotor
regions
• Neurons of prefrontal cortex respond to many
different types of sensory inputs
• Has many connections to the thalamus
• Widely connected to limbic system
• Connected to parietal, temporal and occipital lobes
Prefrontal Cortex
• Are highly responsive to behavioral
importance of inputs (e.g. response from input
associated with pleasure different than that
associated with a noxious stimulus --
motivation.
• Can inhibit motor response in that requires a
delay in response
• Essential for abstract thinking, foresight,
mature judgment, and tactfulness
• Not concerned with intelligence
Symptoms Following Injury to the Prefrontal
Cortex
• Diminished sense of responsibility
• Slovenliness
• Vulgarity in speech
• Clownish behavior followed by frequent feelings of euphoria
• Lack of judgment, insight, and concern for future impact of
immediate decisions.

• CLINICAL NOTE: Lobotomy was done in past on this area to

rehabilitate psychotic patients and relieve chronic intractable pain of
organic origin.
A couple of examples to review pathways.
Spinal Cord Tracts
Dorsal Column
Spinothalmic

Corticospinal
A lesion in the area indicated by shading
results in what clinical signs?
Severing an axon nerve fiber will result in
degradation of the fiber from the site of
injury to the synapse.
In this case, the motor fibers will
degrade ______ (above/below) the
injury
And the sensory fibers will degrade
______ (above/below) the injury
A lesion in the area indicated results in what
clinical signs?
 Spinothalamic
Tract

• Pathway for pain and

temperature
• Located on contralateral
side of the spinal cord