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

38.5K
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.
38.5K
Sensory Perception: Organization of the Somatosensory System01:11

Sensory Perception: Organization of the Somatosensory System

6.0K
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...
6.0K
Overview of Somatic Sensory Pathways01:29

Overview of Somatic Sensory Pathways

5.4K
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...
5.4K
Major Somatic Sensory Pathways01:28

Major Somatic Sensory Pathways

1.3K
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...
1.3K
Somatosensory, Motor, and Association Cortex01:24

Somatosensory, Motor, and Association Cortex

915
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...
915
Sensory Functions of the Skin01:16

Sensory Functions of the Skin

5.8K
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...
5.8K

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

Electrical Spinal Imaging: A noninvasive, high-resolution approach that enables electrophysiological mapping of the human spinal cord.

PLoS biology·2025
Same author

A two-system theory of sensory-evoked brain responses.

Brain : a journal of neurology·2025
Same author

A Replicable and Generalizable Neuroimaging-Based Indicator of Pain Sensitivity Across Individuals.

Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany)·2025
Same author

Widespread, perception-related information in the human brain scales with levels of consciousness.

Imaging neuroscience (Cambridge, Mass.)·2025
Same author

fMRI decoders: unlike the baby, wishful thinking is alive and well.

Trends in cognitive sciences·2025
Same author

Egocentric value maps of the near-body environment.

Nature neuroscience·2025

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Sep 11, 2025

Quantitative Assessment of Cortical Auditory-tactile Processing in Children with Disabilities
09:38

Quantitative Assessment of Cortical Auditory-tactile Processing in Children with Disabilities

Published on: January 29, 2014

10.9K

The Extralemniscal System Modulates Early Somatosensory Cortical Processing.

Sofija Perovic1,2, Richard Somervail1,3,4, Diego Benusiglio1,5

  • 1Neuroscience and Behaviour Laboratory, Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), Rome 00161, Italy.

The Journal of Neuroscience : the Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience
|August 13, 2025
PubMed
Summary

Sudden sensory changes activate the extralemniscal system, influencing brain-wide functions. This study reveals that this system impacts sensory input processing, not just motor output, affecting global brain dynamics.

Keywords:
electroencephalography (EEG)global brain dynamicssomatosensory-evoked potentials (SEP)surprisethalamocortical pathwaysvertex potential

More Related Videos

Corticospinal Excitability Modulation During Action Observation
12:33

Corticospinal Excitability Modulation During Action Observation

Published on: December 31, 2013

9.0K
Non-invasive Assessment of Changes in Corticomotoneuronal Transmission in Humans
09:30

Non-invasive Assessment of Changes in Corticomotoneuronal Transmission in Humans

Published on: May 24, 2017

8.0K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Sep 11, 2025

Quantitative Assessment of Cortical Auditory-tactile Processing in Children with Disabilities
09:38

Quantitative Assessment of Cortical Auditory-tactile Processing in Children with Disabilities

Published on: January 29, 2014

10.9K
Corticospinal Excitability Modulation During Action Observation
12:33

Corticospinal Excitability Modulation During Action Observation

Published on: December 31, 2013

9.0K
Non-invasive Assessment of Changes in Corticomotoneuronal Transmission in Humans
09:30

Non-invasive Assessment of Changes in Corticomotoneuronal Transmission in Humans

Published on: May 24, 2017

8.0K

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Sensory Processing
  • Brain Dynamics

Background:

  • Sudden sensory stimuli engage the extralemniscal system, generating widespread brain responses.
  • Extralemniscal activity is known to modulate motor output for behavioral reactions.
  • The effect of the extralemniscal system on sensory input processing remained unexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether the extralemniscal system influences sensory input processing in the canonical lemniscal pathway.
  • To determine if extralemniscal activation affects sensory processing at the cortical level.

Main Methods:

  • Recorded early-latency evoked potentials in the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) using high-frequency electrical stimuli.
  • Measured extralemniscal activity via vertex potentials evoked by infrequent auditory tones.
  • Analyzed the relationship between S1 response amplitude and the phase of the vertex potential.

Main Results:

  • S1 response amplitude was modulated by the phase of the vertex potential.
  • This modulation occurred at the cortical level, indicating an influence on lemniscal input processing.
  • Demonstrated that extralemniscal system activation impacts sensory input, not solely motor output.

Conclusions:

  • The extralemniscal system interferes with ongoing cortical functions across different brain systems.
  • Transient activation of the extralemniscal system affects sensory input processing in primary sensory cortices.
  • This interaction influences global brain dynamics, highlighting a broader role for the extralemniscal system.