NEU 211 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Unit, Dementia, Frontal Lobe

• School: Syracuse University
• Department: Neuroscience
• Course: NEU 211
• Professor: Jacob Shreckengost

Document Summary

Somatic sensory and motor systems: spinal cord efferent and afferent mechanisms. Each of our sensory modalities focuses on one of three types of sensory information: exteroceptors | focus on outside world (ears, eyes, touch, temp, nociception) Sends input to: alpha motor neurons in spinal cord (reflexes, cerebral cortex (conscious proprioception, cerebellum (unconscious proprioception) Proprioception | sense of one"s physical self in space. Cns must have constant feedback about where our limbs and body are located in space and whether they are relaxed or contracted. Info comes from variety of sensors called proprioceptors. Information travels to cns using dorsal column medial lemniscal pathway, same as touch receptors. Muscle proprioceptors have largest, fastest afferent axons. Two types: muscle spindles (aka stretch receptors) Monitors muscle length/strength: desired muscle length is maintained by neurons in the cns. Muscle stretched = muscle spindle fibers also stretched. 3 components: specialized skeletal muscle fibers (intrafusal) enclosed within a connective tissue covering.