Biological Psychology pain and mechanical senses

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

Ability to locate where they are being touched

What is a dermatome?

An area of the skin innervated by a given spinal nerve

The eighth cranial nerve contains both a(n) ____ component and a ____ component.

Auditory; vestibular

Each spinal nerve has ____.

Both a sensory and a motor component

Large-diameter pain axons ____.

Carry sharp pain information

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

Different areas of the body

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

Glutamate; substance P

How do sound waves ultimately result in the production of receptor potentials?

Hair cells in the cochlea vibrate, causing ion channels to open in their membrane

Vibrations in the fluid of the cochlea causes ____.

Hair cells to displace

Morphine and other opiate drugs decrease sensitivity to pain by ____.

Mimicking the effects of endorphins at the synapses

What does the vestibular system detect?

Movement of the head

What process is predicted by the gate theory of pain?

Non-pain information can inhibit pain information.

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

Opiates

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

Parietal lobe

In the otolith organs, the otoliths are calcium carbonate particles that ____.

Push against hair cells when moved

Anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen, relieve pain by ____.

Reducing the release of chemicals from damaged tissues

Which two structures provide information about vestibular sensation?

Semicircular canals and otolith organs

Pain receptors of the skin are ____.

Simple, bare neuron endings

Morphine is effective in relieving ____.

Slow, dull pain

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

Somatosensory; cingulate

What neurotransmitter is released by axons that carry pain information to the brain?

Substance P

The somatosensory system involves sensation of ____.

The body and its movements

An acceleration of the head at any angle causes ____.

The jelly-like substance in one of the semicircular canals to push against hair cells

Which statement is TRUE of various types of somatosensation?

They are at least partly distinct all the way from the receptors to the cerebral cortex

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

Visually tracking an object while dancing