somatosensory

Examples of somatosensory in the following topics:

• Integration of Signals from Mechanoreceptors

  • The many types of somatosensory receptors work together to ensure our ability to process the complexity of stimuli that are transmitted.
  • Both primary somatosensory cortex and secondary cortical areas are responsible for processing the complex picture of stimuli transmitted from the interplay of mechanoreceptors.
  • In the somatosensory system, receptive fields are regions of the skin or of internal organs.

• Somatosensory Receptors

• The Vestibular System

  • There are also projections to the temporal cortex, which account for feelings of dizziness; projections to autonomic nervous system areas in the brainstem, which account for motion sickness; and projections to the primary somatosensory cortex, which monitors subjective measurements of the external world and self-movement.
  • People with lesions in the vestibular area of the somatosensory cortex see vertical objects in the world as being tilted.

• Thermoreception

  • The thermoreceptor pathway in the brain runs from the spinal cord through the thalamus to the primary somatosensory cortex.

• Brain: Cerebral Cortex and Brain Lobes

  • The parietal lobe contains a somatosensory map of the body similar to the motor cortex.

• Transduction and Perception

  • The brain has dedicated areas to the processing of stimuli, including: (a) thalamus and (b) the auditory, visual and somatosensory processing regions.