Deck 13: The Body Senses

Question 1

Hairy skin is found on the:

A) lips.
B) palms.
C) forearms.
D) soles of the feet.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which receptors are specialized endings that have an onion-like structure containing multiple layers of tissue separated by fluid?

A) Merkel cells
B) Meissner corpuscles
C) Pacinian corpuscles
D) Mechanoreceptors

Answer 2

C

Question 3

The two-point threshold is smaller for the:

A) fingertips and lips than for the belly.
B) back and thighs than for the palm.
C) upper arm than for the big toe.
D) forearm than for the nose.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

The FAII mechanoreceptors with Pacinian corpuscle endings perceive:

A) pattern, texture, and shape.
B) fine textures through transmitted vibration.
C) slip and help in maintaining grip control.
D) skin stretch and hand conformation.

Question 5

The two-point threshold is larger for the:

A) sole than for the thigh.
B) calf than for the big toe.
C) palm than for the shoulder.
D) forehead than for the forearm.

Question 6

According to the text, which mechanoreceptors provide no useful information about the patterns of Braille stimuli?

A) SAI and SAII
B) SAII and FAI
C) FAI and SAI
D) FAII and SAII

Question 7

Glabrous skin is found on the:

A) head.
B) legs.
C) forearms.
D) palms.

Question 8

According to the text, which mechanoreceptors provide somewhat blurry representations of the Braille pattern?

A) SAI
B) SAII
C) FAI
D) FAII

Question 9

The mechanoreceptors used to detect slip and to maintain grip on an object are the _____ mechanoreceptors.

A) SAI
B) SAII
C) FAI
D) FAII

Question 10

The confusion matrix for embossed letters moved across the fingertips showed that the letters _____ and _____ were likely to be confused with one another.

A) M; W
B) A; B
C) F; N
D) T; C

Question 11

The SAI mechanoreceptors perceive:

A) pattern, texture, and shape.
B) skin stretch and hand conformation.
C) slip and help maintain grip control.
D) fine textures through transmitted vibration.

Question 12

SAI mechanoreceptors have:

A) low spatial resolution.
B) relatively small receptive fields.
C) Pacinian corpuscle endings.
D) sparse distribution relatively deeply within the skin.

Question 13

C-tactile mechanoreceptors are:

A) found in the glabrous skin.
B) able to carry information quickly to the brain.
C) involved in the perception of pleasantness of skin stimulations.
D) myelinated.

Question 14

According to the text, a spatial event plot shows that the pattern of spikes produced by the _____ fiber closely matches the Braille-like pattern of bumps.

A) SAI
B) SAII
C) FAI
D) FAII

Question 15

C-tactile fibers are NOT located in the:

A) lips.
B) back.
C) arms.
D) cheeks.

Question 16

Which type of mechanoreceptor has a small receptive field and is fast adapting?

A) SAI
B) SAII
C) FAI
D) FAII

Question 17

_____ transduce mechanical deformations of the skin into neural signals that are sent to the brain.

A) Chemoreceptors
B) Mechanoreceptors
C) Photoreceptors
D) Thermoreceptors

Question 18

FAI mechanoreceptors have:

A) Merkel cell endings.
B) relatively large receptive fields.
C) Meissner corpuscle endings.
D) sparse distribution relatively deeply within the skin.

Question 19

Pacinian corpuscles are specialized endings of the _____ mechanoreceptors.

A) SAI
B) SAII
C) FAI
D) FAII

Question 20

The mechanoreceptors that have unmyelinated fibers are the:

A) SAI and SAII.
B) FAI.
C) FAII.
D) C-tactile.

Question 21

Each dorsal root ganglion:

A) consists of motor neurons sending signals from the brain to the muscles.
B) is adjacent to a single vertebra.
C) enters the ventral part of the spinal cord.
D) carries information from either mechanoreceptors or thermoreceptors but not both.

Question 22

Warm fibers fire at an ongoing moderate rate in response to sustained skin temperatures in the range of:

A) 29-43°C.
B) 17-40°C.
C) 5-18°C.
D) 43-60°C.

Question 23

The dorsal pathway from area S1 carries:

A) tactile and proprioceptive information and is analogous to the "what" pathway of the visual system.
B) tactile and proprioceptive information and is analogous to the "where/how" pathway of the visual system.
C) information about object shape and identity and is analogous to the "what" pathway of the visual system.
D) information about object shape and identity and is analogous to the "where/how" pathway of the visual system.

Question 24

_____, joint receptors, and muscle spindles provide information about joint angles, which depend on the position and movement of the limbs and joints.

A) Otoliths
B) Semicircular canals
C) Golgi tendons
D) C fibers

Question 25

The somatosensory cortex is found in the:

A) spinal cord.
B) posterior parietal lobe.
C) anterior parietal lobe.
D) ventral posterior nucleus of the thalamus.

Question 26

Thermoreceptors primarily fire signals when:

A) there is a potentially damaging mechanical stimuli.
B) overextension of joints occurs.
C) there is a change in muscle force or length.
D) sudden changes occur in the environmental temperature.

Question 27

Somatosensory signals carrying _____ information flow from the ventral posterior nucleus of the thalamus to subareas 3a and 2 of S1.

A) tactile
B) proprioceptive
C) discriminative pain
D) thermoreceptive

Question 28

_____ mechanoreceptors are a type of free nerve endings only present in hairy skin.

A) SAI
B) C-tactile
C) FAI
D) SAII

Question 29

In the context of pain perception, which statement is NOT true?

A) Pain perception helps in detecting actual or potential tissue damage.
B) Pain perception can be influenced by emotions.
C) Pain perception is important for survival.
D) Pain perception is uniform across a wide range of stimuli.

Question 30

Nociceptive pain would NOT occur in:

A) tearing of the skin.
B) exposure to extreme cold.
C) contact with corrosive acids.
D) light touching of the skin.

Question 31

The ventral pathway from area S1 carries:

A) tactile and proprioceptive information and is analogous to the "what" pathway of the visual system.
B) tactile and proprioceptive information and is analogous to the "where/how" pathway of the visual system.
C) information about the perception of slip and is analogous to the "what" pathway of the visual system.
D) information about the perception of slip and is analogous to the "where/how" pathway of the visual system.

Question 32

_____ pain occurs when chemical substances released by tissue damage either activate pain receptors directly or reduce their threshold.

A) Neuropathic
B) Inflammatory
C) Nociceptive
D) Thermoreceptive

Question 33

_____ fibers are myelinated axons of nociceptors that transmit pain signals relatively rapidly.

A) C
B) A-delta
C) Warm
D) Cold

Question 34

The dorsal column-medial lemniscal pathway has its first synapse in the:

A) dorsal horns.
B) somatosensory cortex.
C) medulla.
D) insular cortex.

Question 35

Neuropathic pain occurs due to:

A) trauma caused by mechanical events such as cutting of the skin.
B) chemicals that are released by damage, causing activation of pain receptors.
C) damage to the peripheral or central nervous system.
D) chemical events such as contact with corrosive acids.

Question 36

Cold fibers are found in the:

A) epidermis and respond to extreme joint angles.
B) dermis and respond to a wide range of pain stimuli.
C) epidermis and dermis and respond to changes in muscle length.
D) epidermis and dermis and sense sudden temperature changes in the environment.

Question 37

A full somatotopic map of the body can be found in which area of the brain?

A) the anterior singulate cortex
B) the hypothalamus
C) the thalamus
D) the somatosensory cortex

Question 38

Research by Hua et al. (2005) suggested that the _____ cortex is a site where nonpainful temperature sensations are represented in a somatotopic map.

A) contralateral insular
B) ipsilateral insular
C) contralateral cingulate
D) ipsilateral cingulate.

Question 39

_____ fibers are unmyelinated axons of nociceptors that transmit pain signals relatively slowly.

A) C
B) A-delta
C) Warm
D) Cold

Question 40

The primary somatosensory cortex:

A) is found in the precentral gyrus.
B) receives its inputs from the secondary somatosensory cortex.
C) is composed of four areas called 3a, 3b, 2, and 1.
D) does not possess a somatotopic map.

Question 41

The neural signals related to the affective dimension of pain do NOT flow from the VP nucleus of the thalamus to:

A) the anterior insular cortex.
B) areas 3a and 3b of S1.
C) the amygdala.
D) the anterior cingulate cortex.

Question 42

In spite of being a fake treatment, pain reduction due to the _____ occurs because the person believes the treatment is real and expects to benefit from it.

A) rubber hand illusion
B) exploratory procedures
C) haptic feedback
D) placebo effect

Question 43

Describe the response of slow-adapting versus fast-adapting mechanoreceptors as one first picks up a mug and then keeps it down on a desk.

Question 44

Define the terms (1) proprioception, (2) nociception, (3) thermoreception, and (4) haptic perception.

Question 45

_____ hand illusion is a phenomenon in which people perceive stimulation of their own hand as originating from a fake hand and even perceive the fake hand as their own.

A) Metal
B) Alternate
C) Rubber
D) Plastic

Question 46

Experiencing a phantom limb following an amputation is an example of:

A) tactile agnosia.
B) cortical plasticity.
C) proprioception.
D) A-delta fiber type activity.

Question 47

How does a person lacking nociceptors respond to injury?

Question 48

Actively using touch to perceive and identify objects by their 3-D shape and other material properties is known as:

A) haptic perception.
B) tactile agnosia.
C) sensitization.
D) rubber hand illusion.

Question 49

The study by Wottawa et al. (2015) on the effectiveness of haptic feedback in robot-assisted minimally invasive surgery (RMIS) revealed that operating with haptic feedback led to:

A) less accurate performance.
B) slower performance for all of the surgeons.
C) more tissue damage.
D) less tissue damage.

Question 50

The semicircular canals:

A) consist of the utricle and the saccule.
B) consist of three parallel curved tubes.
C) send signals when the head is undergoing linear acceleration.
D) are filled with endolymph and are located near the cochlea.

Question 51

Which action would trigger a response in the otolith organs?

A) starting to go up in an elevator
B) flying at cruising altitude in an airplane
C) doing a somersault
D) standing still

Question 52

People use the _____ to unconsciously compensate for the movements of the eyes during head movements.

A) otolithic reflex
B) cortical plasticity response
C) vestibule-ocular reflex
D) haptic feedback reflex

Question 53

What is the role of tactile perception, proprioception, haptic perception, and the vestibular system when playing the piano?

Question 54

Compare what one would experience in the following scenarios: (1) thrusting one's hand into a pot of 110°F water, and (2) placing one's hand into a pot of 75°F water that is slowly being heated to 110°F. Explain in terms of the responses of warm-fiber thermoreceptors.

Question 55

Define the two-point threshold and the somatotopic map of the body. What is the relationship between the two-point threshold and the somatotopic map?

Question 56

The signals related to the discriminative dimension of pain flow from the VP nucleus of the thalamus to:

A) the anterior insular cortex.
B) areas 3a and 3b within S1.
C) the amygdala.
D) the anterior cingulate cortex.

Question 57

Which compound has an inhibitory effect on pain-related neural signals in the CNS?

A) histamine
B) hallucinogens
C) endorphins
D) corticosteroids

Question 58

Lederman and Klatzky (1987) proposed eight different types of:

A) mechanisms of pain reduction.
B) motion sensing neurotransmitters.
C) exploratory procedures.
D) surgical procedures.

Question 59

_____ is an inability to recognize objects by touch, which can result from damage to the parietal cortex, specifically to area S2.

A) Sensitization
B) Tactile agnosia
C) Two-point threshold
D) Cortical plasticity

Question 60

One would think that pain receptors becoming more sensitive would be a great detriment since this obviously leads to more frequent pain in the affected body part. What, then, is the benefit of increased sensitivity of nociceptors following injury?

Question 61

Clarence has been playing the guitar for 15 years. After he fractured his left wrist, he found that he could no longer perform the fine finger movements required of his left hand. As a result, he decided to switch to using his right hand for fine finger movements (strumming with his left hand while doing intricate fingering with his right). Describe (1) the current state of Clarence's somatosensory cortex, and (2) the changes you might expect Clarence to experience in his somatosensory cortex over the next few years. (Assume Clarence is ambidextrous.)

Question 62

As Natalia sits on a children's playground swing and slowly swings back and forth in a broad arc, her head maintains its upright orientation. Briefly describe the activity within the perceptual organ that helps Natalia maintain the upright position of her head.

Question 63

Cybertechnology Corporation is developing a robotic kitchen assistant, the Really Iron Chef (RIC). Provide three examples to support the recommendation that RIC be programmed to receive haptic feedback.