2-Minute Neuroscience: Touch Receptors

Summary

This script discusses the role of touch receptors in the skin, which provide tactile information about objects' qualities. It differentiates between rapidly-adapting receptors, which detect movement, and slowly-adapting receptors, which detect size and shape. It also describes four main types of touch receptors: Merkel's discs for texture, Meissner's corpuscles for movement, Pacinian corpuscles for vibrations, and Ruffini's endings for skin stretching, emphasizing their unique functions and receptive field sizes.

Takeaways

• 👐 Touch receptors in the skin provide tactile information about various qualities such as position, shape, texture, pressure, and movement.
• 🔍 Receptors are classified as rapidly-adapting or slowly-adapting based on their response to stimuli.
• 🏃 Rapidly-adapting receptors are activated initially but become inactive if the stimulus remains constant, useful for detecting movement.
• 🕴 Slowly-adapting receptors continue to respond to a constant stimulus, aiding in detecting size and shape of objects.
• 🌐 The size of the receptive field of touch receptors affects tactile discrimination, with many smaller fields being more discriminative.
• 👁️‍🗨️ Merkel’s discs are slowly-adapting receptors with small receptive fields and high spatial resolution, ideal for shape and texture detection.
• 📡 Meissner’s corpuscles are rapidly-adapting receptors that are effective at transmitting information about skin movement, aiding in sensing texture and grip.
• 📳 Pacinian corpuscles are rapidly-adapting with large receptive fields, best for transmitting vibration information from contacted or grasped objects.
• 🔄 Ruffini’s endings are slowly-adapting receptors with large receptive fields, responding to skin stretching, useful for finger and hand position awareness.
• 🤲 There are four main types of touch receptors in hairless skin, each with specific roles in processing tactile information.

Q & A

What are touch receptors?

Touch receptors are sensory cells in the skin that provide tactile information about the position, shape, texture, pressure, and movement of objects we touch.

How are touch receptors classified?

Touch receptors are classified as either rapidly-adapting or slowly-adapting based on their response to stimuli.

What is the function of rapidly-adapting receptors?

Rapidly-adapting receptors are activated at the onset of a stimulus and are important for detecting movement.

What is the function of slowly-adapting receptors?

Slowly-adapting receptors continue to respond to a continuously present stimulus and are important for detecting the size and shape of objects.

What is a receptive field?

A receptive field is the area from which a touch receptor can detect signals.

Why do smaller receptive fields allow for better tactile discrimination?

Many smaller receptive fields provide higher spatial resolution, which allows for better tactile discrimination compared to fewer, larger receptive fields.

What are the four main types of touch receptors found in hairless skin?

The four main types of touch receptors in hairless skin are Merkel’s discs, Meissner’s corpuscles, Pacinian corpuscles, and Ruffini’s endings.

What is the primary function of Merkel’s discs?

Merkel’s discs are slowly-adapting receptors with small receptive fields and high spatial resolution, best-suited for processing information about shape and texture.

How do Meissner’s corpuscles contribute to our sense of touch?

Meissner’s corpuscles are rapidly-adapting receptors that transmit information about movement between the skin and another surface, aiding in sensing texture and maintaining grip.

What is the role of Pacinian corpuscles in touch sensation?

Pacinian corpuscles are rapidly-adapting receptors with large receptive fields, effective at transmitting information about vibrations caused by contacted or grasped objects.

What is the response of Ruffini’s endings to stimuli?

Ruffini’s endings are slowly-adapting receptors with large receptive fields that respond to skin stretching, which is important for generating awareness of finger and hand position.