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Related Concept Videos

Somatosensation01:33

Somatosensation

The somatosensory system relays sensory information from the skin, mucous membranes, limbs, and joints. Somatosensation is more familiarly known as the sense of touch. A typical somatosensory pathway includes three types of long neurons: primary, secondary, and tertiary. Primary neurons have cell bodies located near the spinal cord in groups of neurons called dorsal root ganglia. The sensory neurons of ganglia innervate designated areas of skin called dermatomes.
Sensory Perception: Organization of the Somatosensory System01:11

Sensory Perception: Organization of the Somatosensory System

The somatosensory system is the central and peripheral nervous system component that senses and processes touch, pressure, pain, temperature, and body position or proprioception. The process of sensation takes place at three levels:
The receptor level:
The receptor level is the first stage of sensation. It involves the detection of a stimulus by specialized sensory receptors. The stimulus must arrive within the receptor's receptive field. Next, the receptor converts the energy of the stimulus...
Somatosensory, Motor, and Association Cortex01:23

Somatosensory, Motor, and Association Cortex

The somatosensory cortex in the parietal lobes is crucial for interpreting sensory data such as touch, temperature, and proprioception. The somatosensory cortex, situated in the parietal lobes, plays a vital role in interpreting sensory information like touch, temperature, and proprioception—awareness of body position. This specialized brain region features an organized structure wherein neurons at the top primarily process sensations originating from the lower body. In contrast, those at the...
Overview of Somatic Sensory Pathways01:29

Overview of Somatic Sensory Pathways

Somatic sensory or somatosensory pathways refer to the neural pathways that carry information related to touch, pressure, pain, temperature, and proprioception from the skin, muscles, tendons, and joints to the brain. These pathways involve several stages of processing and integration of sensory information.
The somatosensory system is divided into three main pathways: the dorsal (or posterior) column-medial lemniscus, spinothalamic (or anterolateral), and spinocerebellar pathways.
The dorsal...
Major Somatic Sensory Pathways01:28

Major Somatic Sensory Pathways

Sensory impulses related to touch, pressure, vibration, and proprioception from various body parts, such as the limbs, trunk, neck, and posterior head, travel to the cerebral cortex through the posterior column-medial lemniscus pathway. The pathway’s name derives from the two white-matter tracts that convey the impulses: the spinal cord's posterior column and the brainstem's medial lemniscus. First-order sensory neurons extend their axons into the spinal cord, forming the posterior columns...
What is a Sensory System?01:31

What is a Sensory System?

Sensory systems detect stimuli—such as light and sound waves—and transduce them into neural signals that can be interpreted by the nervous system. In addition to external stimuli detected by the senses, some sensory systems detect internal stimuli—such as the proprioceptors in muscles and tendons that send feedback about limb position.

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Visualization Method for Proprioceptive Drift on a 2D Plane Using Support Vector Machine
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Published on: October 27, 2016

Somatosensory processing and body representation.

Elena Azañón1, Patrick Haggard

  • 1Departament de Psicologia Bàsica, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain. eazanyon@gmail.com

Cortex; a Journal Devoted to the Study of the Nervous System and Behavior
|March 20, 2009
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) research is expanding into higher somatosensory functions beyond basic touch processing. This review explores TMS applications in multisensory integration and cognitive functions related to perception.

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Science

Background:

  • Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is increasingly used to study somatosensory processing.
  • Most studies focus on primary somatosensory functions like tactile detection and discrimination.
  • Fewer studies have explored higher-level somatosensory functions using TMS.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the existing literature on somatosensory TMS, including studies beyond primary somatosensory areas.
  • To discuss the potential of TMS in modulating multisensory body representations.
  • To highlight TMS's utility in probing higher cognitive functions via unimodal perceptual systems.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of transcranial magnetic stimulation studies on somatosensory processing.
  • Analysis of studies applying TMS to primary and non-primary somatosensory areas.
  • Discussion of TMS effects on tactile, visual, and proprioceptive systems.

Main Results:

  • TMS has confirmed basic functions of primary somatosensory areas and demonstrated the effects of various TMS protocols.
  • Evidence suggests the plausibility of modulating multisensory representations of the body using TMS.
  • TMS holds potential for investigating higher cognitive functions by modulating unimodal perception.

Conclusions:

  • The application of TMS in somatosensory research is broadening to include higher cognitive functions.
  • TMS offers a valuable tool for exploring the neural mechanisms underlying body perception and multisensory integration.
  • Future research can leverage TMS to investigate complex cognitive processes through sensory system modulation.