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Sensorimotor Neurophysiology of Active Sensing Part 2: Dr. Steve I. Perlmutter Somatosensory System Receptor Function Spinal Cord Circuitry Proprioception Touch Temperature & Pain Signaling in the Nervous System: Action Potential Generation Ionic gradients generate a voltage across the membranes of neurons; membrane voltage is regulated by ionic channels and pumps The action potential is a brief, all-or-none electrical depolarization of the neuron membrane The rate and timing of action potentials convey information from one neuron to another. In primary sensory neurons, action potentials are elicited by transduction of a sensory stimulus into a receptor potential Receptor potential Spike generation Spike conduction In mechanoreceptors, mechanical energy causes ionic channels in the cell’s membrane to open, leading to a change in membrane voltage, the receptor potential Touch receptors endings in the skin Hair follicle Receptor (RA, SA) Touch acuity: receptive field size of receptors Meissner corpuscle Merkel receptors Ruffini corpuscle Pacinian corpuscle Touch acuity: receptor density Meissner corpuscles Merkel disk receptors Johansson & Valbo Touch acuity: 2-point discrimination Temporal resolution of touch: slowly vs. rapidly adapting receptors Meissner corpuscle Merkel disk receptor Ruffini ending Torebjork & Ochoa Touch sensitivity: response to stimulus intensity Activation Threshold Touch sensitivity: frequency response of receptors Touch sensitivity: receptor firing vs. perception Monkey hand Human psychophysics Primary sensory afferents enter the spinal cord and project to 3 main targets Axon branches to other CNS regions Information is transmitted from the primary sensory afferent to other neurons in the CNS at synapses. First main target for somatosensory information is other neurons in the spinal cord