PSYCH 2E03 Chapter Notes - Chapter 3: Dorsal Root Ganglion, Posterior Grey Column, Afferent Nerve Fiber
1 Oct 2016
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Document Summary
Somatosensory perceptions are largely associated with touch and pain, there are specialized receptors within muscles and joints that provide a further sensory dimension = proprioception. Two main ideas have been proposed to account for the way in which touch signals are generated and transmitted to the brain. Individual receptors and nerve endings are selectively sensitive to a particular form of energy impinging on the skin. Each type of receptor not only produces a particular touch sensation but also indicates where on the skin surface the stimulation occurred. Specific receptors for heat, cold, pressure, and pain. Specificity arises from the overall pattern of activity across a broad spectrum of receptors. Different types of touch generate different patterns of activity and somehow the brain is able to distinguish those patterns to produce the different touch perceptions. Accept receptor specificity as the basis for touch perception, but most forms of touch involve stimulation of multiple types of receptors.
