Sensory Physiology Quiz

Somatic Sensation Receptors

• Mechanoreceptors: Detect mechanical stimuli like touch, pressure, vibration, and stretch.
• Thermoreceptors: Detect temperature changes, both heat and cold.
• Nociceptors: Detect painful stimuli, including tissue damage and extreme temperatures.
• Proprioceptors: Detect body position and movement.

Lateral Inhibition

• Enhances contrast and sharpness of sensory perception.
• Lateral inhibition works by inhibiting the activity of neighboring neurons.
• When a sensory neuron is stimulated, it inhibits its neighboring neurons. This creates a "lateral" inhibition, which helps to isolate the signal and improve the contrast and sharpness of the perceived stimulus.

Somatic Sensation Modalities

• Touch: Sense of pressure and texture.
• Temperature: Senses of heat and cold.
• Pain: Signal of tissue damage or potential harm.
• Proprioception: Awareness of body position and movement.

First Order Sensory Neuron Cell Bodies

• Located in the dorsal root ganglia (DRG) of the spinal cord.

Perception of Sensation Brain Region

• Somatosensory cortex: Located in the parietal lobe of the brain, receives and processes sensory information from the body.

Test your knowledge of sensory physiology with this quiz! Explore topics such as functional properties of sensory receptors, receptive fields, two-point discrimination, lateral inhibition, adaptation modalities, ascending tracts, and somatosensory cortex. Recommended reading materials are also provided.