Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

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.
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...
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...
Tactile and Chemical Senses01:27

Tactile and Chemical Senses

Tactile senses encompass touch, temperature, and pain, each mediated by specific receptors. Touch receptors detect mechanical energy or pressure against the skin. Sensory fibers from these receptors enter the spinal cord and relay information to the brain stem. Here, most fibers cross over to the opposite side of the brain. The touch information then moves to the thalamus, which projects a map of the body's surface onto the somatosensory areas of the parietal lobes in the cerebral cortex. This...
Synesthesia01:27

Synesthesia

Synesthesia is a remarkable condition where stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. People with synesthesia experience a blending or crossing of their senses, such as sight and sound, leading to cross-modal sensations. In this condition, the stimulation of one sense, such as hearing a number or musical note, triggers an experience of another sense, like sensing a specific color, taste, or smell. People...
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...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Activity in barrel cortex related to tactile delay eyeblink conditioning.

Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)·2026
Same author

Spiking neural networks provide accurate and time-efficient models for whisker stimulus classification of the awake mouse.

Frontiers in neuroscience·2026
Same author

Suppressing Sensation during Action across Species and Sensory Modalities: Predictive and Nonpredictive Mechanisms of Sensory Modulation.

The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience·2025
Same author

Deliberation in Guesstimation.

Cognitive science·2025
Same author

Statistical regularities and the sensory consequences of self-action: A multi-species, multi-modal perspective.

Current opinion in neurobiology·2025
Same author

Human tactile discrimination of pulse shape is possible without preadaptation.

Journal of neurophysiology·2024
Same journal

Synaptic micromechanics and brain softening as a mechanobiological hypothesis for Alzheimer's disease.

Frontiers in neuroscience·2026
Same journal

The relationship between healthy sleep patterns and the risk of scoliosis: a large prospective cohort study.

Frontiers in neuroscience·2026
Same journal

Dynamic functional reorganization in post-stroke aphasia: a state-of-the-art fMRI review from disease evolution to intervention.

Frontiers in neuroscience·2026
Same journal

Correction: Case Report: A possible novel adult-onset, progressive MAO-A hypofunction.

Frontiers in neuroscience·2026
Same journal

Respiratory modulation of neurophysiology and symptoms in athletes with sports-related concussion: a randomized crossover trial.

Frontiers in neuroscience·2026
Same journal

Impact of C-reactive protein-triglyceride-glucose and systemic immune-inflammation indices on obstructive sleep apnea in older adults with depression.

Frontiers in neuroscience·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 27, 2026

A Simple Stimulatory Device for Evoking Point-like Tactile Stimuli: A Searchlight for LFP to Spike Transitions
07:34

A Simple Stimulatory Device for Evoking Point-like Tactile Stimuli: A Searchlight for LFP to Spike Transitions

Published on: March 25, 2014

Mapping spikes to sensations.

Maik C Stüttgen1, Cornelius Schwarz, Frank Jäkel

  • 1Department of Biopsychology, University of Bochum Bochum, Germany.

Frontiers in Neuroscience
|November 16, 2011
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Comparing neural and behavioral data requires careful consideration of psychophysical tasks. Misinterpreting psychometric data can lead to incorrect conclusions about neural codes for sensory perception.

Keywords:
neurometricperceptionpsychometricpsychophysical taskpsychophysicsreceiver operating characteristicsignal detection theorysingle-unit electrophysiology

More Related Videos

Mapping Inhibitory Neuronal Circuits by Laser Scanning Photostimulation
09:50

Mapping Inhibitory Neuronal Circuits by Laser Scanning Photostimulation

Published on: October 6, 2011

Examining Local Network Processing using Multi-contact Laminar Electrode Recording
13:40

Examining Local Network Processing using Multi-contact Laminar Electrode Recording

Published on: September 8, 2011

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 27, 2026

A Simple Stimulatory Device for Evoking Point-like Tactile Stimuli: A Searchlight for LFP to Spike Transitions
07:34

A Simple Stimulatory Device for Evoking Point-like Tactile Stimuli: A Searchlight for LFP to Spike Transitions

Published on: March 25, 2014

Mapping Inhibitory Neuronal Circuits by Laser Scanning Photostimulation
09:50

Mapping Inhibitory Neuronal Circuits by Laser Scanning Photostimulation

Published on: October 6, 2011

Examining Local Network Processing using Multi-contact Laminar Electrode Recording
13:40

Examining Local Network Processing using Multi-contact Laminar Electrode Recording

Published on: September 8, 2011

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Science
  • Psychophysics

Background:

  • Single-unit recordings in perceptual decision-making tasks link neural activity to behavior.
  • Psychometric data (behavior) and neurometric data (neural spikes) are often compared to validate neural codes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To critically evaluate the use of psychometric data as an unbiased measure of perceptual sensitivity.
  • To highlight the influence of non-sensory factors on psychometric performance.
  • To identify potential pitfalls in comparing neural and psychometric data.

Main Methods:

  • Review of psychophysical tasks for assessing detection and discrimination.
  • Analysis of cognitive processes influencing task performance.
  • Discussion of factors that can compromise psychometric data.

Main Results:

  • Psychometric data are influenced by both sensory and non-sensory processes.
  • Neglecting these influences can lead to misestimation of perceptual sensitivity.
  • Current methods may result in erroneous conclusions about neural codes.

Conclusions:

  • There are shortcomings in understanding the processes underlying perceptual decisions.
  • Further research is needed to refine methods for comparing neural and psychometric data.
  • Accurate assessment of psychophysical sensitivity is crucial for understanding neural coding.