Information about Somatosensory System
“Touch” redirects here. For other uses, see Touch (disambiguation).
For the study of touching behaviour in humans, see .
Somatic sensation consists of the various sensory receptors that trigger the experiences labelled as touch or pressure, temperature (warm or cold), pain (including itch and tickle), and the sensations of muscle movement and joint position including posture, movement, and facial expression (collectively also called proprioception).
A more complex concept comes into play when the term is used in reference to human beings. The sense of touch is mediated by the somatosensory system. Touch may be considered one of five human senses; however, when a person touches something or somebody this gives rise to various feelings: the perception of pressure (hence shape, softness, texture, vibration, etc.), relative temperature and sometimes pain. Thus the term "touch" is actually the combined term for several senses. In medicine, the colloquial term "touch" is usually replaced with somatic senses, to better reflect the variety of mechanisms involved.
The somatosenses include: Cutaneous (skin), kinesthesia (movement) and visceral (internal) senses, of which the first two are better known. Visceral senses have to do with sensory information from within the body, such as stomach aches.
Anatomy
Human brain localization
The somatosensory system[1]consists of ascending pathways from the body to the postcentral gyrus in the cerebral cortex, namely the Dorsal Column Medial Lemniscal pathway, the Ventral Spinothalamic pathway, ventral and dorsal spinocerebellar tracts.The primary somatosensory area in the human cortex is located in the postcentral gyrus (Parietal Lobe). It is the location of the primary somatosensory cortex, the main sensory receptive area for the sense of touch. Like other sensory areas, there is a map of sensory space called a homunculus in this location. For the primary somatosensory cortex, this is called the sensory homunculus. Areas of this part of the human brain map to certain areas of the body, dependent on the amount or importance of somatosensory input from that area. For example, there is a large area of cortex devoted to sensation in the hands, while the back has a much smaller area. This somatosensory map is termed the homunculus.
Physiology
A somatosensory pathway typically has three long neurons[2]: primary, secondary and tertiary (or first, second, and third).- The first neuron always has its body in the dorsal root ganglion of the spinal nerve (if sensation is in head or neck, it will be the trigeminal nerve ganglia or ganglia of other sensory nerves).
- The second neuron has its body either in the spinal cord or in the brainstem, and will cross (or decussate) to the opposite side and terminate in the thalamus. In the case of the somatosensory system, the pathways all terminate in the ventro-posterior nucleus of the thalamus.
- The third neuron has its body in the VP nucleus of the thalamus and ends in the postcentral gyrus of the cerebral cortex, which is the primary somatosensory area in the human cortex.
Technology
The new research area of haptic technology allows to provide touch sensation in virtual and real environments. This exciting new area has started to provide critical insights into touch capabilities.See also
- Cell signaling
- Special senses
- Mechanoreceptor
- Molecular Cellular Cognition
- Nociceptor
- Muscle spindle
- Proprioception
Notes
1. ^ Nolte J.The Human Brain 5th ed. 2002. Mosby Inc, Missouri.
2. ^ Saladin KS. Anatomy and Physiology 3rd ed. 2004. McGraw-Hill, New York.
2. ^ Saladin KS. Anatomy and Physiology 3rd ed. 2004. McGraw-Hill, New York.
References
- Flanagan, J.R., Lederman, S.J. Neurobiology: Feeling bumps and holes, News and Views, Nature, 2001 Jul. 26;412(6845):389-91.
- Hayward V, Astley OR, Cruz-Hernandez M, Grant D, Robles-De-La-Torre G. Haptic interfaces and devices. Sensor Review 24(1), pp. 16-29 (2004).
- Robles-De-La-Torre G., Hayward V. Force Can OvercomFLARGUSe Object Geometry In the perception of Shape Through Active Touch. Nature 412 (6845):445-8 (2001).
- Robles-De-La-Torre G. The Importance of the Sense of Touch in Virtual and Real Environments. IEEE Multimedia 13(3), Special issue on Haptic User Interfaces for Multimedia Systems, pp. 24-30 (2006).
External links
Nervous system: Sensory systems/sense | |
|---|---|
| Special senses | Visual system/Visual perception • Auditory system/Hearing • Chemoreception (Olfactory system/Olfaction • Gustatory system/Taste) |
| Somatosensory system | Nociception • Thermoreception • Vestibular system • Mechanoreception (Pressure, Vibration, Proprioception) |
| Other | Sensory receptor |
For the sense of touch, see:
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- Somatosensory system, for the various sensory receptors that trigger the experiences labelled as touch or pressure
- Haptics, for the study of human touching behaviour
- Haptic, for haptic technology
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In a sensory system, a sensory receptor is a structure that recognizes a stimulus in the internal or external environment of an organism. In response to stimuli the sensory receptor initiates sensory transduction by creating graded potentials or action potentials in the same cell
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Pressure (symbol: p) is the force per unit area applied on a surface in a direction perpendicular to that surface.
Gauge pressure is the pressure relative to the local atmospheric or ambient pressure.
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Gauge pressure is the pressure relative to the local atmospheric or ambient pressure.
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trillion fold).]]
Temperature is a physical property of a system that underlies the common notions of hot and cold; something that is hotter generally has the greater temperature. Temperature is one of the principal parameters of thermodynamics.
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Temperature is a physical property of a system that underlies the common notions of hot and cold; something that is hotter generally has the greater temperature. Temperature is one of the principal parameters of thermodynamics.
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Pain is a sensation transmitted from sensory nerves through the spinal cord and to the sensory area of the cerebrum, where the sensation is perceived. It is defined by the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) as “an unpleasant sensory and emotional
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Pruritus
Classification & external resources
ICD-10 L 29.
ICD-9 698
DiseasesDB 25363
MedlinePlus 003217
An itch (Latin: pruritus
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Classification & external resources
ICD-10 L 29.
ICD-9 698
DiseasesDB 25363
MedlinePlus 003217
An itch (Latin: pruritus
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Posture or posturing may refer to:
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- Human position
- Abnormal posturing, in neurotrauma
- Posturography, in neurology
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In a general sense, locomotion simply means active movement or travel, applying not just to biological individuals.
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- In biology, locomotion is the self-powered, patterned motion of limbs or other anatomical parts by which an individual customarily moves itself from
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Proprioception (PRO-pree-o-SEP-shun (IPA pronunciation: [ˈpɹopɹiːoˌsɛpʃən]); from Latin proprius
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Senses are the physiological methods of perception. The senses and their operation, classification, and theory are overlapping topics studied by a variety of fields, most notably neuroscience, cognitive psychology (or cognitive science), and philosophy of perception.
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Feeling in psychology is usually reserved for the conscious subjective experience of emotion.[1] As such, it is inherently beyond the reach of scientific method.
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Pressure (symbol: p) is the force per unit area applied on a surface in a direction perpendicular to that surface.
Gauge pressure is the pressure relative to the local atmospheric or ambient pressure.
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Gauge pressure is the pressure relative to the local atmospheric or ambient pressure.
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Shape (OE. sceap Eng. created thing), refers to the external two-dimensional outline, appearance or configuration of some thing — in contrast to the matter or content or substance of which it is composed.
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Soft may refer to:
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Business
- Adventure Soft, UK-based video game developer which was established in the 1980s by Mike Woodroffe
- Cocktail Soft, Japanese H game manufacturer
- Hudson Soft, Japanese publisher and developer
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- ''For other uses, see oscillator (disambiguation)
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trillion fold).]]
Temperature is a physical property of a system that underlies the common notions of hot and cold; something that is hotter generally has the greater temperature. Temperature is one of the principal parameters of thermodynamics.
..... Click the link for more information.
Temperature is a physical property of a system that underlies the common notions of hot and cold; something that is hotter generally has the greater temperature. Temperature is one of the principal parameters of thermodynamics.
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Pain is a sensation transmitted from sensory nerves through the spinal cord and to the sensory area of the cerebrum, where the sensation is perceived. It is defined by the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) as “an unpleasant sensory and emotional
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Skin layers: epidermis, dermis, and subcutis, showing a hair follicle, sweat gland & sebaceous gland.]] In zootomy and dermatology, skin is the largest organ of the integumentary system made up of multiple layers of epithelial tissues that guard underlying muscles and organs.
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Proprioception (PRO-pree-o-SEP-shun (IPA pronunciation: [ˈpɹopɹiːoˌsɛpʃən]); from Latin proprius
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Abdominal pain
Classifications and external resources
ICD-10 R 10.
ICD-9 789.0
Abdominal pain can be one of the symptoms associated with transient disorders or serious disease.
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Classifications and external resources
ICD-10 R 10.
ICD-9 789.0
Abdominal pain can be one of the symptoms associated with transient disorders or serious disease.
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The lateral postcentral gyrus is a prominent structure in the parietal lobe of the human brain and an important landmark. It was initially defined from surface stimulation studies of Penfield, and parallel surface potential studies of Bard, Woolsey, and Marshall.
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The lateral postcentral gyrus is a prominent structure in the parietal lobe of the human brain and an important landmark. It was initially defined from surface stimulation studies of Penfield, and parallel surface potential studies of Bard, Woolsey, and Marshall.
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The human brain controls the central nervous system (CNS), by way of the cranial nerves and spinal cord, the peripheral nervous system (PNS) and regulates virtually all human activity.
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cortical homunculus is a physical representation of the primary motor cortex, i.e., the portion of the human brain directly responsible for the movement and exchange of sense and motor information (namely touch: sensitivity, cold, heat, pain etc.) of the rest of the body.
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The lateral postcentral gyrus is a prominent structure in the parietal lobe of the human brain and an important landmark. It was initially defined from surface stimulation studies of Penfield, and parallel surface potential studies of Bard, Woolsey, and Marshall.
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cerebral cortex is a structure within the vertebrate brain with distinct structural and functional properties. In non-living, preserved brains, the outermost layers of the cerebrum has a grey color, hence the name "grey matter".
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Cell signaling is part of a complex system of communication that governs basic cellular activities and coordinates cell actions. The ability of cells to perceive and correctly respond to their microenvironment is the basis of development, tissue repair, and immunity as well as
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special senses are the first four of these; touch is specifically excluded as a special sense. Instead, the various aspects of touch (pain, heat, pressure) are all categorized as somatic senses.
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