Bio Psych Test Somatosensation

What is a dermatome?

an area of skin innervated by a given spinal nerve

The current view of how endorphins decrease the experience of pain is that they:

block the release of substance P

Small-diameter pain fibers:

carry dull pain information

What kind of receptors detect pain, warmth, and cold?

somatosensory

An individual with damage to the primary somatosensory cortex would most have problems with:

ability to locate where someone was touching them

Which of the following drug actions would most likely block the effectiveness of placebos?

blocking endorphin receptors

Each spinal nerve has:

both a sensory and motor component

Damage to the thalamus would most likely result in

loss of sensory input to the cortex

Somatosensory information travels from the thalamus to which area of the cortex?

parietal lobe

After hurting your elbow in a biking accident, the gate-control theory of pain suggest that to reduce the pain, you could:

rub it gently

Which two structures provide information about vestibular sensation?

semicircular canals and otolith organs

Pain receptors of the skin are:

simple, bare neuron endings

Stimulation of a touch receptor opens ____ channels in the axon.

sodium

The sensory aspect of pain activates the ____ cortex, whereas the emotional aspect activates the ____ cortex.

somatosensory; cingulate

What would you expect if a researcher injected substance P into an animal's spinal cord?

the animal would show indications of pain in the part of the body that sends information to that section of the spinal cord

The somatosensory system involves sensation of:

the body and its movements

Which of the following is TRUE about various types of somatosensation?

they are at least partly distinct all the way from the receptor to the cerebral cortex

The ____ nucleus of the thalamus is associated with pain perception of the body.

ventral posterior

Which of the following would be most impaired with damage to the vestibular senses?

visually tracing an item while dancing

Each hemisphere of the cerebral cortex receives most of its input from the ___ side of the body and controls the muscles on the ___ side

contralateral; contralateral

The function of the semicircular canals is to:

detect movement of the head

Along each strip of somatosensory cortex, different sub-areas respond to:

different areas of the body

What does the vestibular system detect?

different movements of the head

Studies with placebos and studies using hypnotism suggest that much of the reduction in pain is the result of decreased activation in the:

emotion areas of the brain

A mild degree of pain releases the neurotransmitter ____. A more intense pain also releases ____.

glutamate, substance P

Why is morphine NOT used to suppress pain during an operation?

it inhibits dull pain but not sharp pain

Morphine and other opiate drugs decrease sensitivity to pain by:

mimicking the effects of endorphins at the synapses

Cutting a spinal nerve would result in loss of:

motor control and sensation in the part of the body it innervated

Someone who has suffered damage to the sensory component of one spinal nerve would lose sensation from:

one dermatome

The brain chemicals known as endorphins and enkephalins produce effects similar to which substance?

opiates

Certain painful stimuli activate neurons which release endorphins in the:

periaqueductal gray area.

After damage to the somatosensory cortex, a person would have the most difficulty with:

pointing to their own body parts

What is the primary target area on the cerebral cortex for touch and other skin sensations?

post-central gyrus

In the otolith organs, the otoliths are calcium carbonate particles that:

push against hair cells when moved