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Related Concept Videos

Somatosensation01:33

Somatosensation

36.9K
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.
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Sensory Functions of the Skin01:16

Sensory Functions of the Skin

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The skin is the largest organ of the human body and plays a crucial role in our sensory perception. It contains a vast network of sensory receptors that contribute to the skin's protective function by perceiving physical, biological, and environmental cues and generating relevant responses.
There are two main categories of receptors on the skin: capsulated and non-capsulated. The non-capsulated ones are mainly the pain receptors. The capsulated ones can be further categorized based on the...
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Cells of the Epidermis01:24

Cells of the Epidermis

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The epidermis is made of four or five layers of epithelial cells, depending on its location in the body. From deep to superficial, these layers are the stratum basale, stratum spinosum, stratum granulosum, stratum lucidum, and stratum corneum.
The cells in all these layers except the stratum basale are called keratinocytes, a type of cell that manufactures and stores the protein keratin. The keratinocytes in the stratum corneum are dead and regularly slough away, being replaced by cells from...
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Introduction to Special Senses01:26

Introduction to Special Senses

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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...
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Unrenewable Cells00:50

Unrenewable Cells

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In humans, the photoreceptor cells of the eye and sensory hair cells of the ear lack stem cells. These cells are thus unrenewable and cannot be replaced when they are damaged or destroyed.
Photoreceptors
The retina is composed of several layers and contains specialized cells called photoreceptors. The photoreceptors (rods and cones) change their membrane potential when stimulated by light energy. There are two types of photoreceptors—rods and cones—which differ in the shape of...
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Design Example: Resistive Touchscreen01:14

Design Example: Resistive Touchscreen

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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.
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 30, 2026

Measurement of Vibration Detection Threshold and Tactile Spatial Acuity in Human Subjects
07:32

Measurement of Vibration Detection Threshold and Tactile Spatial Acuity in Human Subjects

Published on: September 1, 2016

12.2K

Merkel cells are a touchy subject.

Qiufu Ma1

  • 1Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, 450 Brookline Street, Boston, MA 02115, USA.

Cell
|April 29, 2014
PubMed
Summary

Merkel cells are the primary sites of touch sensation, utilizing the Piezo2 ion channel for transduction. These cells also play a surprising role in allodynia, offering a new target for chronic pain therapies.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cell Biology
  • Sensory Physiology

Background:

  • The mechanisms by which the Merkel cell-neurite complex senses and processes tactile information are not fully understood.
  • Merkel cells are specialized skin cells associated with nerve endings, traditionally implicated in touch perception.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To elucidate the specific roles of Merkel cells and associated molecular machinery in tactile transduction.
  • To investigate the involvement of Merkel cells in the phenomenon of allodynia and its potential therapeutic implications.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized advanced imaging techniques to observe Merkel cell-neurite interactions in vivo.
  • Employed genetic manipulation to assess the function of the Piezo2 ion channel in Merkel cells.
  • Investigated behavioral responses to tactile stimuli and mechanical pain in experimental models.

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Merkel Cell Polyomavirus Infection and Detection
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Merkel Cell Polyomavirus Infection and Detection

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Cutaneous Surgical Denervation: A Method for Testing the Requirement for Nerves in Mouse Models of Skin Disease
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Cutaneous Surgical Denervation: A Method for Testing the Requirement for Nerves in Mouse Models of Skin Disease

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Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Apr 30, 2026

Measurement of Vibration Detection Threshold and Tactile Spatial Acuity in Human Subjects
07:32

Measurement of Vibration Detection Threshold and Tactile Spatial Acuity in Human Subjects

Published on: September 1, 2016

12.2K
Merkel Cell Polyomavirus Infection and Detection
13:45

Merkel Cell Polyomavirus Infection and Detection

Published on: February 7, 2019

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Cutaneous Surgical Denervation: A Method for Testing the Requirement for Nerves in Mouse Models of Skin Disease
08:01

Cutaneous Surgical Denervation: A Method for Testing the Requirement for Nerves in Mouse Models of Skin Disease

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Main Results:

  • Identified Merkel cells as the principal sites for the initial conversion of mechanical touch stimuli into neural signals (tactile transduction).
  • Demonstrated that the ion channel Piezo2 is essential for this tactile transduction process mediated by Merkel cells.
  • Revealed that Merkel cells are critically involved in the generation of allodynia, a type of pain hypersensitivity.

Conclusions:

  • Merkel cells are confirmed as the primary transducers of touch, with Piezo2 acting as the key mechanosensor.
  • The discovery of Merkel cells' role in allodynia presents a novel cellular target for developing treatments for chronic pain conditions.