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Related Concept Videos

Somatosensation01:33

Somatosensation

44.0K
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.
44.0K
Major Somatic Sensory Pathways01:28

Major Somatic Sensory Pathways

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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...
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Overview of Somatic Sensory Pathways01:29

Overview of Somatic Sensory Pathways

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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...
9.0K
Sensory Perception: Organization of the Somatosensory System01:11

Sensory Perception: Organization of the Somatosensory System

11.6K
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...
11.6K
Indirect Motor Pathways01:22

Indirect Motor Pathways

3.7K
The indirect motor or extrapyramidal pathways originate in the brainstem, the lower portion of the brain that connects it to the spinal cord. They consist of several distinct tracts, each with specialized functions. The four main tracts of the indirect motor pathways are the vestibulospinal tract, the reticulospinal tract, the tectospinal tract, and the rubrospinal tract.
The vestibulospinal tract originates in the vestibular nuclei of the brainstem. The vestibular system detects changes in...
3.7K

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 3, 2026

Experimental Methods to Study Human Postural Control
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Experimental Methods to Study Human Postural Control

Published on: September 11, 2019

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Assessing Somatosensory Utilization during Unipedal Postural Control.

Rahul Goel1, Yiri E De Dios2, Nichole E Gadd2

  • 1Department of Health and Human Performance, University of HoustonHouston, TX, USA.

Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience
|April 27, 2017
PubMed
Summary

Healthy adults rely on somatosensory information for balance during unipedal stance. Minimizing visual and vestibular input highlights the crucial role of somatosensory feedback in postural control.

Keywords:
balance controlsensory biasessomatosensationstabilogram-diffusion analysisunipedal stance

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Evaluating Postural Control and Lower-extremity Muscle Activation in Individuals with Chronic Ankle Instability
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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Biomechanics
  • Human Physiology

Background:

  • Postural control integrates visual, vestibular, and somatosensory information.
  • Understanding sensory utilization is key for personalized rehabilitation strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate somatosensory system's role in unipedal postural control.
  • To assess sensory contribution bias in healthy adults during a specific motor task.

Main Methods:

  • Fourteen healthy adults performed unipedal stance in a supine position with and without vision.
  • A backpack frame on air-bearings minimized vestibular cues, and a pneumatic cylinder applied a 60% body weight load.
  • Eyes-open (EO) and Eyes-closed (EC) conditions were compared using unipedal stance time (UST) and stabilogram-diffusion analysis (SDA).

Main Results:

  • No significant difference in unipedal stance time (UST) between EO and EC conditions.
  • Stabilogram-diffusion analysis (SDA) revealed significant differences in critical mean square displacement between conditions.
  • The experimental setup minimized vestibular input, confirming its reduced role.

Conclusions:

  • Unipedal stance in a supine, visionless, and vestibular-minimized condition predominantly relies on somatosensory information.
  • This finding supports the hypothesis of significant somatosensory utilization for postural control under specific sensory-deprived conditions.