6 concepts
General Organization of the Somatosensory System
The somatosensory system is composed of the neurons that make sensing touch, temperature, and position in space possible.
Tactile Sensation
Touch is sensed by mechanoreceptive neurons that respond to pressure in various ways.
Proprioceptive Sensations
Proprioception refers to the sense of knowing how one's body is positioned in three-dimensional space.
Somatic Sensory Pathways
The somatosensory pathway is composed of three neurons located in the dorsal root ganglion, the spinal cord, and the thalamus.
Mapping the Primary Somatosensory Area
The cortical sensory homunculus is located in the postcentral gyrus and provides a representation of the body to the brain.
Somatic Sensory Pathways to the Cerebellum
The ventral and dorsal spinocerebellar tracts convey proprioceptive information from the body to the cerebellum.