Somatosensory processes

Key Ideas
A. Sensory receptors convert stimulus energy to electrical energy within the
nervous system (action potentials). A process called stimulus transduction.

B. Receptor potential: The electrical signal produced within a sensory

neuron by a stimulus. The amplitude and duration of the receptor potential is graded.

C. Modality specific: Sensory receptor neurons tend to be responsive to a

specific type of stimulus or stimulus modality; therefore, stimulation of sensory neuron is a reliable indicator of stimulus modality. This is known as labeled line coding. Stimulation of a sensory neuron either electrically or by a normal stimulus is always interpreted in the same way.

D. Receptive fields: the area of skin innervated by a neuron in which

stimulation will drive a response in that neuron

Decussation: crossing of the fibers associated with a pathway from one side of the body to the other

1. Stretch receptors contained in muscle spindles fibers detect stretch of the muscle. Essentially, deformation of the plasma membrane of receptor neuron physically pulls open ion channels in the membrane, allowing ions to enter the cell and depolarizing it.

There are several different types of sensory receptor neurons involved in somatosensation. Each, except some multimodal neurons involved in nocioception, are myelinated. A: Meissner corpuscle B: Merkel disk C: Pacinian corpuscle D: Ruffini corpuscle E: Free nerve endings (pain)

SA I (Merkel)

The distribution of the different types of mechanoreceptors is not uniform over the surface of the hand. The more dense the stipples, the more more dense the distribution of the receptors.

Merkels disk

Somatosensory neurons respond differently to the same stimulus. The pattern of action potentials in response to a given stimulus can be either continuous or transient. Reponses can even be generated in response to the onset and offset of the stimulus, but not to the continued presence of the stimulus.

Meissners corp.

Cells have receptive fields. These correspond to the areas on the skin surface over which a stimulus can induce a response in a specific somatosensory neuron. The size of the receptive field differs for different types of somatosensory neurons.

The greater the number of receptors and the smaller the size of the receptive field, the greater the resolution of the sensory process. That is, the smaller the receptive field, the greater the acuity of the sensory process (the ability to discern that pressure on two points on the skin surface are distinct from one another.

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