Notes for the power point presentation report

Group 3
Topic:
The Ascending tract of Spinal Cord

I. Definition of ascending tract and function

II. Introduction, anatomy (enumeration of receptors, roles, functions (summary))
III. Receptors and its actual function

Part I.
slide #1:
Title of the topic
The ascending tract of Spinal Cord
- It is also called as the Afferent tract. It is responsible for sensory information. Everything that is
going up on our brain
Slide#2:
Overview of the Lumbar Area, Cross section cut, bird’s eye view
Descending part: all of the information will descend from the brain DOWN to the receptors inside our
body.
Ascending part: All of the information that our body gets, ascends from the body parts goes to the
spinal cord> UP to the brain
*Focus on the Ascending

Part II:
Slide#3:
DORSAL COLUMN MEDIAL LEMNISCUS: goes into the brain / Contrast Properception- example: you can
reach or touch your nose while your eyes are close.

*Point with a cursor

Portions:
Medial lemniscus > Fine touch
- faciculus gracilis – Thoracic 5
- -faciculus cuneatus – Thoracic 6

Slide#4:
Spinocerebellar: Knowing your own space/ balance
Top of information: Unconscious properception / can come in either of the dorsal/ventral
spinocerebellar
Portions:
- Dorsal Spinocerebellar – information taken from same side that comes in, bring up from the
same side of the brain to the cerebellum
- Ventral spinocerebellar – Brings information in, throw it to the other side, bring it up, throw it
back to the other side before it goes to the cerebellum.

Slide#5:
Anterolateral
Portions:
- Lateral Spinothalamatic – Pain and temperature
 - Ventral Spinothalamatic – crude touch (pressured based touch)
*Information coming from foot: Sacral portion can sense; info coming from neck: Cervical portion can
sense*

---- Site the Example that we have: explain this before showing the next slide:

Part III.

“ I want to touch something with my fingertip”

- Sensory information is going down on my arm into my spinal cord
- Now enters the spinal cord from the back (of the body)
- All sensory information will come into the spinal cord via back
- All motor output is going to be coming out via front

Slide#6:
5 senses of the human:
- Touch- pain, thermal changes, pressure, light touch, vibration
- Sight, smell, sound, taste – special afferent stimuli that are conveyed through them
Respective cranial nerves:
The other tactile modalities are transmitted through the Ascending tracts of the Spinal Cord

Slide#7:
Recognition of these stimuli is provided by a variety of Mechanoreceptors distributed throughout the
body.

Mechanoreceptors: “free nerve ending” that are responsible to several types od stimuli. They include:

Slide#8:
Pacinian Corpuscles:
- Aka Lamellar Corpuscles
- Responsible receptor For vibration, pressure, sensation
- One of the major types of Mechanoreceptor
- Location: skin
It is an Ascending tract (From skin>Ascends detection to > Brain)

Slide#9:
Meissner’s Corpuscles:
- Aka Tactile Corpuscles
- Location: Skin: distributed on various areas but most concentrated in thick hairless skin, esp. at
finger pads. Also on located in Fingers and lips
- Responsible receptor For light touch
Comparison between Lamellar and Tactile corpuscles: Pacinian- deep pressure suck as poke ; Messner-
slight touch (dampi)

Slide#10:
Merkel’s corpuscles:
- Responsible receptor for Pressure
 - Function: provides information on pressure, position, deep static touch
- Location: wide distribution: basal layer, glabrous and hair skin, hair follicles, oral and anal
mucosa
- Disease: in Burns, Merkel endings are most commonly lost.
- Allodynia – diabetic person

Slide#11:
Golgi Tendons:
- For proprioception
- It is a proprioreceptor . type of sensory receptor that senses changes in muscle tension
- Location: junction between tendon and muscle od the lower limbs
- Information passes. One side of the body > crosses over at the spinal cord ascending > ventral
spinocerebellar tract.

Slide#12:
Nocireceptors:
- Pain receptors
- Sensory neuron that responds to damaging or potentially damaging stimuli by sending “possible
threat” signals to the spinal cord and Brain
Locations:
- External: Tissues in skin (cutaneous nocireceptors), cornea, mucosa
- Internal: Muscles, joints, bladder, visceral organs, digestive tracts

Slide #13:
Types of nocireceptors:

- Thermal NR: Activated by noxious heat and cold temperature

- Mechanical NR: Responds to excess pressure or mechanical deformation
- Chemical NR: has TRP channels that responds to a wide variety of spices (can also detect acidity)
- Sleeping/silent NR: Some do not respond at all to the other types of NR.
- Polymodal: Neurons that perform many functions

Slide#14:
Muscle Spindles:
- Stretch receptors
- Detects changes in the length of the muscle.
- Conveys information to the Central Nervous System via Afferent Never fibers
- proprioception