Sensory, Motor, & Integrative Systems

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How is sensation different from perception ?

Sensation: detection of a stimulus (a change) in the environment. This may or many not include conscious awareness of the stimulus. Perception: Being conscious of a stimulus, able to interpret the sensation.


What is a sensory modality?

Sensory modality is a specific type of sensation (touch, smell, etc)


How are generator potentials and receptor potentials similar?How are they different?

Generator potential is a graded potential, which, if strong enough, will trigger a nerve impulse in a first order sensory neuron. Receptor potential also leads to nerve impulse. This is a graded potential as well, which causes a neurotransmitter release, leading to an EPSP or IPSP in a first order sensory neuron.


What is the difference between rapidly adapting and slowly adapting receptors?

Rapidly adapting signals a change in a stimulus, slowly adapting triggers and remains for as long as the stimulus persists.


Which somatic sensory receptors are encapsulated?

Touch, pressure, vibration


Why do some receptors adapt slowly and others adapt rapidly?

Fast adapting alerts you if there is a change in the stimulus, like the onset of touch. They are more sensitive to small changes because they fire rapidly. Slow adapting fire slower, and are usually involved in static perception (e.g. holding an object).


Which somatic sensory receptors mediate touch sensations?

Meissner's corpuscles, hair root plexus, Merkel disc, Ruffini corpuscles.


Stimulation of receptors in skeletal muscles, joints, tendons, and fascia causes;

Deep Somatic Pain


Pain that arises from stimulation of receptors in the skin is called;

Superficial Somatic Pain


Nociceptors are found in every tissue of the body except:

the brain


What are Muscle spindles?

Proprioceptors in skeletal


What is the awareness of body position?



What is referred pain ?

Visceral pain that is felt at a site remote from its origin, such as in an area of skin that is far away from the affected visceral organ.


How does fast pain differ from slow pain?

Fast pain is perceived 0.1 seconds after the stimulus, it is sharp, acute pain. Slow pain is perceived 1 second or more after the stimulus and tends to be chronic, throbbing pain.


What type of stimuli activates nociceptors?

Intense thermal, mechanical,or chemical stimuli


What aspects of the muscle function are monitoring by muscle spindles and tendon organs ?

Stretch and tension in the muscle.


How is a muscle spindle activated?

When the central area of the intrafusal fibers is stretched.


When a muscle contracts it exerts a force that pulls the points of attachment of the muscle at either end toward each other. What is this force called?

Muscle Tension


What is ischemia?

inadequate blood flow to an organ


What type of pain is acute, sharp, or prickling ? And is not felt in deeper tissues of the body ?

Fast pain


The Anterolateral Pathway is also know as:

The Spinolateral Tract


Each muscle spindle consists of several slowly adapting sensory nerve endings that wrap around 3 to 10 specialized muscle fibers. A connective tissue capsule encloses the sensory nerve endings and anchors the spindle to________ & _____________.

The endomysium and perimysium


Which pathway conveys nerve impulses for pain, warmth, itch, tickle, and posterior head to the cerebral cortex?

The Anterolateral Pathway


What are the two major tracts that form the posterior columns ?

Gracile faciculus and cuneate fasciculus


Where do first neurons conduct impulses ?

from the somatic receptors into the brain stem or spinal cord.


What pathway relays information from the somatic sensory receptor to the primary somatosensory area in the cerebral cortex and to the cerebellum?

Somatic sensory pathway


Which cranial nerve conveys impulses for most somatic sensations from the left side of the face into the pons ?

The left trigeminal nerve V conveys nerve impulses from the left side of the face to into the pons.


What are the functional differences between the posterior column - medial lemniscus pathway, the anterolateral pathway, and the trigeminothalamic pathway ?

Medial lemniscus pathway: touch, pressure, vibration, conscious proprioception in body, neck and back of head. Anterolateral pathway: pain, cold, heat, itch, tickle, throughout body. Trigeminothalamic pathway: tactile, thermal, pain, proprioception in face/head.


What type of sensory information is carried in the spinocerebellar tracts, and what is its function?

proprioception. Helps to maintain balance, motor coordination, balance.


Which body parts have the largest representation in the primary somatosensory area ?

Face, tongue, lips, fingertips/hands.


How do the functions of upper motor neurons from the cerebral cortex and from the brain stem differ?

Cerebral cortex Upper motor neurons are essential for the execution of voluntatry movements of the body. Brain stem UMN regulate muscle tone, comtrol posture


Name the pathway ; touch,pressure, vibration, and conscious

proprioception from limbs, trunk, neck, and posterior head to

the cerebral cortex.

Posterior column-medial lemniscus pathway


What are the two major tracts that are located in the spinal cord that carries proprioceptive impulses to the cerebellum.

Anterior and Posterior Spinocerebellar Tracts


Name the pathway; pain, cold,

warmth, itch, and tickle from limbs, trunk, neck, and

posterior head to the cerebral cortex.

Anterolateral (spinothalamic) pathway


Name the pathway; touch, temperature, pain,

and proprioception from face, nasal cavity, oral cavity, and teeth to cerebral cortex.

teeth to cerebral cortex.

Trigeminothalamic pathway =


What are the three pathways that are somatic sensory pathways?

Anterolateral, Trigeminothalamic, Posterior- medial lemniscus Pathways.


Neurons from __________ and cerebellum help regulate the activity of upper motor neurons.

the basal nuclei


Because only the lower motor neurons transmit output from the CNS to skeletal muscles, they are referred to as

The final common pathway


________ motor neurons have their cell bodies in the brain stem and spinal cord and their axons are in the cranial and spinal nerves.

Lower Motor Neurons


________ motor neurons in the cerebral cortex or brain stem connect directly or, more often, indirectly (via interneurons called local circuit neurons) with lower motor neurons that innervate skeletal muscles.

Upper Motor Neurons


The direct (voluntary) motor pathways that control muscles of the limbs and trunk:

The lateral and anterior corticospinal, cortico-bulbar pathways


The pathway controls the distal muscles responsible for precise, skilled movements. Axons decussate in the medulla (pyramidal decussation).

Lateral pathway