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Somatosensory
The somatosensory system, or somatic sensory system is a subset of the sensory nervous system. The main functions of the somatosensory system are the perception of external stimuli, the perception of internal stimuli, and the regulation of body position and balance (proprioception). It is believed to act as a pathway between the different sensory modalities within the body. As of 2024 debate continued on the underlying mechanisms, correctness and validity of the somatosensory system model, and whether it impacts emotions in the body. The somatosensory system has been thought of as having two subdivisions; *one for the detection of mechanosensory information related to touch. Mechanosensory information includes that of light touch, vibration, pressure and tension in the skin. Much of this information belongs to the sense of touch which is a general somatic sense in contrast to the special senses of sight, smell, taste, hearing, and balance. * one for the nociception detec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sensory Nervous System
The sensory nervous system is a part of the nervous system responsible for processing sense, sensory information. A sensory system consists of sensory neurons (including the sensory receptor cells), neural pathways, and parts of the brain involved in sensory perception and interoception. Commonly recognized sensory systems are those for Vision (sense), vision, Auditory system, hearing, somatic sensation, touch, taste, olfaction, smell, Vestibular system, balance and visceral sensation. Sense organs are transducers that convert data from the outer physical world to the realm of the mind where people interpret the information, creating their perception of the world around them. The receptive field is the area of the body or environment to which a receptor organ and receptor cells respond. For instance, the part of the world an eye can see, is its receptive field; the light that each Rod cell, rod or Cone cell, cone can see, is its receptive field. Receptive fields have been ident ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nociception
In physiology, nociception , also nocioception; ) is the Somatosensory system, sensory nervous system's process of encoding Noxious stimulus, noxious stimuli. It deals with a series of events and processes required for an organism to receive a painful stimulus, convert it to a molecular signal, and recognize and characterize the signal to trigger an appropriate defensive response. In nociception, intense chemical (e.g., capsaicin present in chili pepper or cayenne pepper), mechanical (e.g., cutting, crushing), or thermal (heat and cold) stimulation of sensory neurons called nociceptors produces a signal that travels along a chain of nerve fibers to the brain. Nociception triggers a variety of physiological and behavioral responses to protect the organism against an aggression, and usually results in a subjective experience, or perception, of pain in Sentience, sentient beings. Detection of noxious stimuli Potentially damaging mechanical, thermal, and chemical stimuli are detecte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Merkel Cell
Merkel cells, also known as Merkel–Ranvier cells or tactile epithelial cells, are oval-shaped mechanoreceptors essential for light touch sensation and found in the skin of vertebrates. They are abundant in highly sensitive skin like that of the fingertips in humans, and make synaptic contacts with somatosensory afferent nerve fibers. It has been reported that Merkel cells are derived from neural crest cells, though more recent experiments in mammals have indicated that they are epithelial in origin. Merkel cells functionally resemble the enterochromaffin cell, the mechanosensory cell of the gastrointestinal epithelium.Chang W, Kanda H, Ikeda R, Ling J, DeBerry JJ, Gu JG. Merkel disc is a serotonergic synapse in the epidermis for transmitting tactile signals in mammals. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2016 Sep 13;113(37): E5491-500. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1610176113. Structure Merkel cells are found in the skin and some parts of the mucosa of all vertebrates. In mammalian skin, they ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trigeminal Nerve
In neuroanatomy, the trigeminal nerve (literal translation, lit. ''triplet'' nerve), also known as the fifth cranial nerve, cranial nerve V, or simply CN V, is a cranial nerve responsible for Sense, sensation in the face and motor functions such as biting and chewing; it is the most complex of the cranial nerves. Its name (''trigeminal'', ) derives from each of the two nerves (one on each side of the pons) having three major branches: the ophthalmic nerve (V), the maxillary nerve (V), and the mandibular nerve (V). The ophthalmic and maxillary nerves are purely sensory, whereas the mandibular nerve supplies motor as well as sensory (or "cutaneous") functions. Adding to the complexity of this nerve is that Autonomic nervous system, autonomic nerve fibers as well as special sensory fibers (taste) are contained within it. The motor division of the trigeminal nerve derives from the Basal plate (neural tube), basal plate of the embryonic pons, and the sensory division originates in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dorsal Root Ganglion
A dorsal root ganglion (or spinal ganglion; also known as a posterior root ganglion) is a cluster of neurons (a ganglion) in a dorsal root of a spinal nerve. The cell bodies of sensory neurons known as first-order neurons are located in the dorsal root ganglia. The axons of dorsal root ganglion neurons are known as afferents. In the peripheral nervous system, afferents refer to the axons that relay sensory information into the central nervous system (i.e. the brain and the spinal cord). Structure The neurons comprising the dorsal root ganglion are of the pseudo-unipolar type, meaning they have a cell body (soma) with two branches that act as a single axon, often referred to as a ''distal process'' and a ''proximal process''. Unlike the majority of neurons found in the central nervous system, an action potential in posterior root ganglion neuron may initiate in the ''distal process'' in the periphery, bypass the cell body, and continue to propagate along the ''proximal proc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tactile Corpuscle
Tactile corpuscles or Meissner's corpuscles are a type of mechanoreceptor discovered by anatomist Georg Meissner (1829–1905) and Rudolf Wagner. This corpuscle is a type of nerve ending in the skin that is responsible for sensitivity to pressure. In particular, they have their highest sensitivity (lowest threshold) when sensing vibrations between 10 and 50 hertz. They are rapidly adaptive receptors. They are most concentrated in thick hairless skin, especially at the finger pads. Structure Tactile corpuscles are encapsulated myelinated nerve endings, surrounded by Schwann cells. The encapsulation consists of flattened supportive cells arranged as horizontal lamellae surrounded by a connective tissue capsule. The corpuscle is 30–140 μm in length and 40–60 μm in diameter. A single nerve fiber meanders between the lamellae and throughout the corpuscle. Location They are distributed on various areas of the skin, but concentrated in areas especially sensitive to li ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nociceptor
A nociceptor (; ) is a sensory neuron that responds to damaging or potentially damaging stimuli by sending "possible threat" signals to the spinal cord and the brain. The brain creates the sensation of pain to direct attention to the body part, so the threat can be mitigated; this process is called nociception. Terminology Nociception and pain are usually evoked only by pressures and temperatures that are potentially damaging to tissues. This barrier or threshold of pain, threshold contrasts with the more sensitive visual, auditory, olfactory, taste, and somatosensory responses to stimuli. The experience of pain is individualistic and can be suppressed by stress or exacerbated by anticipation. Simple activation of a nociceptor does not always lead to perceived pain, because the latter also depends on the frequency of the action potentials, integration of pre- and postsynaptic signals, and influences from higher or central processes. Scientific investigation Nociceptors were disc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sensory Homunculus
A cortical homunculus () is a distorted representation of the human body, based on a neurological "map" of the areas and portions of the human brain dedicated to processing motor functions, and/or sensory functions, for different parts of the body. Nerve fibresconducting somatosensory information from all over the bodyterminate in various areas of the parietal lobe in the cerebral cortex, forming a representational map of the body. Findings from the 2010s and early 2020s began to call for a revision of the traditional "homunculus" model and a new interpretation of the internal body map (likely less simplistic and graphic), and research is ongoing in this field. Types Motor homunculus A motor homunculus represents a map of brain areas dedicated to ''motor'' processing for different anatomical divisions of the body. The primary motor cortex is located in the precentral gyrus, and handles signals coming from the premotor area of the frontal lobes. Sensory homunculus A sen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mechanoreceptor
A mechanoreceptor, also called mechanoceptor, is a sensory receptor that responds to mechanical pressure or distortion. Mechanoreceptors are located on sensory neurons that convert mechanical pressure into action potential, electrical signals that, in animals, are sent to the central nervous system. Vertebrate mechanoreceptors Cutaneous mechanoreceptors Cutaneous mechanoreceptors respond to mechanical stimuli that result from physical interaction, including pressure and vibration. They are located in the skin, like other cutaneous receptors. They are all innervated by Aβ fibers, except the mechanorecepting free nerve endings, which are innervated by A delta fiber, Aδ fibers. Cutaneous mechanoreceptors can be categorized by what kind of sensation they perceive, by the rate of adaptation, and by morphology. Furthermore, each has a different receptive field. By sensation * The Slowly Adapting type 1 (SA1) mechanoreceptor, with the Merkel corpuscle end-organ (also known as M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taste
The gustatory system or sense of taste is the sensory system that is partially responsible for the perception of taste. Taste is the perception stimulated when a substance in the mouth biochemistry, reacts chemically with taste receptor cells located on taste buds in the oral cavity, mostly on the tongue. Taste, along with olfaction, the sense of smell and trigeminal nerve stimulation (registering texture, pain, and temperature), determines Flavoring, flavors of food and other substances. Humans have taste receptors on taste buds and other areas, including the upper surface of the tongue and the epiglottis. The gustatory cortex is responsible for the perception of taste. The tongue is covered with thousands of small bumps called lingual papillae, papillae, which are visible to the naked eye. Within each papilla are hundreds of taste buds. The exceptions to this is the filiform papillae that do not contain taste buds. There are between 2000 and 5000Boron, W.F., E.L. Boulpaep. 200 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
