Praktikum Px Sensoris

dr. Nisa Karima, M.Sc.

Sensory Pathway
Stimulus

Sensory receptor (= transducer)

Afferent sensory neurons

CNS

Integration, perception
Sensory system
Receptors:
- specialised (smell, vision, hearing, taste
- visceral (viscera, smooth muscle -unconscious or autonomic)
- somatic (skin, striated muscle, joints)
 Cutaneous
receptors

Muscle, tendon
receptors
 Touch Receptors
Free or encapsulated dendritic endings
In skin and deep organs, e.g.: Pacinian
corpuscles
concentric layers of c.t.  large receptive field
detect vibration
opens mechanically
gated ion channel
rapid adaptation 
receptor type?
• Electrical, mechanical, chemical stimuli (touch, pressure,
temperature, and pain):
• Dorsal column – Medial lemniscal system  large
myelinated fibres  discriminative/ fine touch,
proprioception, vibration
• Anterolateral system  small myelinated fibres
• Ventral & lateral spinothalamic tracts  non-
discriminative touch, pain, cold, warm
Afferent neuron  thalamus  somatosensory cortex
• Dorsal column – Medial lemniscal system
• Sensory receptor  gracile/ cuneate nuclei  thalamus
 somatosensory cortex
• Anterolateral system
• Sensory receptor  spinal cord  thalamus 
somatosensory cortex
Dorsal Column – Medial Lemniscal System:
1. Touch sensations  high degree of localization of the
stimulus
2. Touch sensations  transmission of fine gradations of
intensity
3. Phasic sensations (e.g. vibratory sensations)
4. Sensations signaling movement against the skin
5. Position sensations (joints)
6. Pressure sensations  fine degrees of judgment of
pressure intensity
Anterolateral System:
1. Pain
2. Thermal sensations (warmth & cold)
3. Crude touch & pressure  crude localizing ability on the
surface of the body
4. Tickle & itch
5. Sexual sensations
• Spatial orientation of the nerve fibres in the thalamus (head
in medial side) & SI (head in the lateral side)
• Somatosensory cortex:
• Somatic sensory area I (SI)  Postcentral gyrus 
high degree of localization
• Somatic sensory area II (SII)  Superior wall of Sylvian
fissure  poor localization

• The area in SI cortex for each part of the body  the

number of receptors in that part of the body
• The effects of cortical lesion:
• Ablation of SI  affects sensory processing of SII
SII  does not affect SI
• Cortical lesion affects (in order):
1. Proprioception & fine touch  affected the most
2. Temperature
3. Pain  affected the least  perceived by
brainstem reticular formation, thalamus, other lower
brain centers
“The physical adjunct of an imperative protective
reflex” (Sherrington)
Bilateral excision of somatosensory area causes:
1. Unable to localize discretely different sensations in
different parts of body. He/ she can localize crudely
2. Unable to judge critical degrees of pressure against body
3. Unable to judge the weights of objects
4. Unable to judge shapes/ forms of objects (astereognosis)
5. Unable to judge texture of materials

Pain & temperature sensations are intact (quality & intensity),

but poorly localized