Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Somatosensation

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 System

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...

Overview of Somatic Sensory Pathways

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...

Responses to Gravity and Touch

Responses to Gravity and Touch

Gravitropism: Plant Responses to Gravity

Design Example: Resistive Touchscreen

Design Example: Resistive Touchscreen

A device engineer plays a crucial role in designing user interfaces for mobile devices. One such interface is the resistive touchscreen, which fundamentally consists of two metallic layers: a flexible upper layer and a rigid lower layer, separated by a narrow gap. The high resistance between these two layers is a key characteristic of this design.
When a user touches the screen, the two layers make contact at a specific point known as the touchpoint. This contact reduces the resistance between...

Introduction to Special Senses

Introduction to Special Senses

Sensory receptors play an integral part in comprehending our external and internal environments. They receive diverse stimuli, converting them into the nervous system's electrochemical signals. This conversion occurs as the stimulus alters the sensory neuron's cell membrane potential, instigating the generation of an action potential. This action potential is subsequently transmitted to the central nervous system (CNS), which integrates with other sensory data or higher cognitive functions.

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by

Same author

Evaluation of high-density, multi-contact nerve cuffs for activation of grasp muscles in monkeys.

Journal of neural engineering·2017

Same author

Decisions in motion: vestibular contributions to saccadic target selection.

Journal of neurophysiology·2016

Same author

New microsatellite markers for bananas (Musa spp).

Genetics and molecular research : GMR·2012

Same author

Individualized recording chambers for non-human primate neurophysiology.

Journal of neuroscience methods·2012

Same author

A Bayesian approach to biomechanical modeling to optimize over large parameter spaces while considering anatomical variability.

Conference proceedings : ... Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. Annual Conference·2007

Same author

Enantioselective analysis of N-hydroxymexiletine glucuronide in human plasma for pharmacokinetic studies.

Chirality·1999

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 16, 2026

Applying Incongruent Visual-Tactile Stimuli during Object Transfer with Vibro-Tactile Feedback

Applying Incongruent Visual-Tactile Stimuli during Object Transfer with Vibro-Tactile Feedback

Published on: May 23, 2019

Interactions between tactile and proprioceptive representations in haptics.

L Rincon-Gonzalez¹, S N Naufel, V J Santos

¹School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA.

Journal of Motor Behavior

|December 15, 2012

Summary

Neuroprosthetic limbs need sensory feedback for interaction. This study shows tactile and proprioceptive sensations are processed together, aiding in creating better sensory feedback for neuroprosthetics.

More Related Videos

Tactile Semiautomatic Passive-Finger Angle Stimulator (TSPAS)

Tactile Semiautomatic Passive-Finger Angle Stimulator (TSPAS)

Published on: July 30, 2020

The Crossmodal Congruency Task as a Means to Obtain an Objective Behavioral Measure in the Rubber Hand Illusion Paradigm

The Crossmodal Congruency Task as a Means to Obtain an Objective Behavioral Measure in the Rubber Hand Illusion Paradigm

Published on: July 26, 2013

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 16, 2026

Applying Incongruent Visual-Tactile Stimuli during Object Transfer with Vibro-Tactile Feedback

Applying Incongruent Visual-Tactile Stimuli during Object Transfer with Vibro-Tactile Feedback

Published on: May 23, 2019

Tactile Semiautomatic Passive-Finger Angle Stimulator (TSPAS)

Tactile Semiautomatic Passive-Finger Angle Stimulator (TSPAS)

Published on: July 30, 2020

The Crossmodal Congruency Task as a Means to Obtain an Objective Behavioral Measure in the Rubber Hand Illusion Paradigm

The Crossmodal Congruency Task as a Means to Obtain an Objective Behavioral Measure in the Rubber Hand Illusion Paradigm

Published on: July 26, 2013

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Biomedical Engineering
Human-Computer Interaction

Background:

Neuroprosthetic limbs require sensory feedback for effective environmental interaction.
Understanding the interplay between tactile and proprioceptive feedback is crucial for advancing neuroprosthetic technology.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the interrelationships between tactile and proprioceptive sensations.
To evaluate how tactile cues influence spatial estimation and sensory coding.
To inform the development of stable, adaptive sensory feedback for neuroprosthetics.

Main Methods:

Human psychophysics experiments were conducted to assess hand location estimation errors under varying tactile conditions.
Neurophysiological experiments involved a macaque grasping textured objects in different hand postures.
Analysis of sensory coding in relation to object texture and hand posture was performed.

Main Results:

Tactile cues did not significantly alter the pattern of spatial estimation errors, but direct contact with the workspace reduced these errors.
Sensory coding in macaques demonstrated a dependence on both object roughness and hand posture.
Individual cells were found to encode both tactile and proprioceptive inputs simultaneously.

Conclusions:

Tactile sensations are processed within a stable spatial reference frame provided by the proprioceptive system.
The simultaneous encoding of tactile and proprioceptive inputs by individual cells offers a foundation for improved neuroprosthetic sensory feedback.
These findings are vital for creating more intuitive and functional neuroprosthetic devices.