Neuroscience: DCML Pathway Quiz

The feeling of physical discomfort, usually caused by injury or illness.

The ability to sense pressure, light touch, and texture on the skin.

The ability to detect temperature difference with the skin, sensing hot or cold.

The ability to sense vibrations applied to the body, usually tested with a tuning fork.

The sense of body position and movement, including limb position, joint movement, and muscle stretch.

The ability to detect the motion and position of your joints, allowing you to understand body movement.

Sensory functions that are processed in the cerebral cortex, allowing for more complex sensory perception.

The ability to distinguish two points on the skin that are simultaneously touched, assessed by using two compass points.

A sensory pathway responsible for transmitting information about vibration, proprioception (awareness of body position), and fine touch.

The DCML pathway's fibers ascend on the same side of the spinal cord they originated from before crossing over.

The point where the DCML pathway's fibers switch sides, crossing over from one side of the spinal cord to the other.

The DCML pathway transmits information about fine touch and proprioception, while another pathway, the Lateral Spinothalamic Tract, carries pain and temperature.

The DCML pathway is responsible for the ability to precisely feel the texture, shape, and movement of objects, allowing for fine motor control.

Damage to a single peripheral nerve.

Symmetrical damage to multiple peripheral nerves.

Disorder of the dorsal root, often caused by a herniated disc.

Pain felt along the path of a nerve root, usually described as electric or tingling.

A condition affecting the DCML pathway, responsible for vibration and proprioception, caused by factors like Vitamin B12 deficiency or Multiple sclerosis.

A condition affecting the corticospinal tract, responsible for motor control, and spinothalamic tract, responsible for pain and temperature sensation.

A condition affecting the central part of the spinal cord, impacting motor control and sensation.

Loss of coordination, often seen in conditions affecting the cerebellum or its pathways.

The three branches of the trigeminal nerve (CN V) responsible for conveying sensations from the head and face. They are the ophthalmic, maxillary, and mandibular divisions.

The central nucleus in the pons where sensory information from the trigeminal nerve first reaches. It receives pain, temperature, and touch signals.

The process where sensory information from the trigeminal nerve crosses over from one side of the brain to the other side of the body. It occurs at the trigeminal nucleus.

The pathway that carries touch, pressure, and vibration sensations from the body to the brain. This pathway runs alongside the trigeminal nerve pathway.

The pathway that carries pain and temperature sensations from the body to the brain. It works alongside the DCML pathway.

The region in the parietal lobe of the brain where all sensory information is processed and interpreted. It receives signals from the thalamus.

A sensory impairment that affects all modalities (pain, temperature, touch) in a specific area of the body due to damage in the peripheral nerve supplying that area.

A classification system for sensory syndromes based on the location of the lesion. It considers peripheral nerves, spinal cord, brainstem, thalamus, and the somatosensory cortex.

Clinical features include bilateral loss of pain and temperature sensation below the lesion level, along with paraplegia or tetraplegia, characterized by decreased muscle tone (hypotonia) and reflexes (hyporeflexia).

Clinical features encompass a dissociated sensory loss (bilateral loss of pain and temperature sensation with preserved touch, vibration, and proprioception), and potential LMN signs below the lesion if the lesion expands sufficiently.

A neurological condition affecting the trigeminal nerve and spinothalamic tracts, typically sparing the DCML pathway due to its medial location.

A lesion in the medulla oblongata, often due to an occlusion of the posterior inferior cerebellar artery (PICA), which supplies blood to the lateral medulla.

The spinothalamic tracts carry pain and temperature information, while the dorsal column-medial lemniscus (DCML) pathway transmits information about fine touch, vibration, and proprioception.

The point at which nerve fibers cross from one side of the nervous system to the other. In the context of the spinothalamic tract, the fibers cross in the spinal cord, while in the DCML pathway, they cross in the medulla oblongata.

A condition caused by damage to the thalamus, resulting in intense, persistent pain on one side of the body, often triggered by even the slightest touch.

A sensory disorder characterized by an exaggerated response to painful stimuli, often experienced with thalamic pain syndrome.

A condition resulting from damage to the medulla oblongata, where pain and temperature sensation are impaired on one side of the face and the opposite side of the body.

An area of the brain that processes sensory information from the body before sending it to the cortex, essentially acting as a relay station for touch, pain, temperature, and proprioception.

A part of the brainstem responsible for vital functions like breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure.

A region of the brainstem where sensory pathways from the body converge before being sent to the thalamus.

The outermost layer of the brain responsible for higher-level functions, including perception, thought, and language.