Dorsal Column Pathway:

• Mechanoreceptors
• Primary Neurons: Central process of afferents enter medial spinal cord through medial part of
dorsal root--> ascend on ipsilateral side of dorsal column-->dorsal column nuclei in medulla
• Column nuclei: nucleus gracilis; nucleus cuneatus
• These axons are primary neurons
• Somatotopy:
• Legs are medial and neck is lateral
• Lesion of mechanorecptor causes ipsilateral deficits in fine touch, 2 point
discrimination, vibration, and joint position
• Dorsal column nuclei are somatotopicaly organized:

• Nucleus Gracilis: medial (leg and trunk)

• Nucleus Cuneatus: lateral (arm and neck)
• Secondary neurons: cross sensory decussation in medulla, turn and ascend in medial leminscus
• Medial Leminscus:
• bundle of fibers that originate in medulla
• Made of secondary neurons
• have cell bodies in dorsal column nuclei
• Ascends from caudal medulla-->pons-->midbrain-->thalamus
• Lesion of Medial Leminscus produces contralateral deficits in fine touch, 2
point discrimination, vibration, and joint position
• Terminate in the Ventral Posterior Lateral nucleus
• Somatotopy:
• Neck is medial/feet are lateral
• Tertiary Nuerons:
• originate in the Thalamus (VPL nucleus)-->pass laterally through the posterior limb of
internal capsule
• Somatopy is reverse of spinal cord:
• Neck is medial and Legs are lateral
• Lesions of VPL nucleus in thalamus cause contralateral deficits in fine
discrimination, vibration and joint position
• Internal capsule's corona radiata
• A fan of fibers that sends/receives info to/from cortex
• Thalamic nuerons terminate in somatosensory cortex (S1)
• poscentral gyrus
• Somatotopy flips
• cortex: legs are medial and face is lateral
• Feet and legs are medial in the homunculus
• Lesions of SI cortex cause contralateral deficits in fine discrimination,
vibration, etc.
• Convergence: one cortical neuron in SI can receive input from 300-400
mechanoreceptors in skin
• 4 areas of SI:
• Brodmann's 3a, 3b, 1, and 2
• Area 3b
• Receives input from skin receptors; slow and rapid
• derives information about details of edges of objects and surface texture
• Area 1
• input from skin's rapidly adapting receptors
• Fxn: motion processing and direction of movement
• Area 3a
• Inputs from muscle spindle afferents that sense muscle stretch
• fxn: information about limb movement
• Area 2
• Input from deep tissue (ruffini corpuscles) and complex touch from skin
• fxn: determines 3d shape
 • Neurons of SI project to SII
• required for fxn
• SII projects to insular cortex-->temporal lobe
• important for tactile memory and recognition
• Helps to identify what u r touching
• Some SI project to posterior parital cortex (brodmann's areas 5 & 7)
• propreoception-helps u identify where the body is and where the stimulus is

Summary of pathway:
1) Mechanorecptors enter the dorsal root and ascend the spinal column on the ipsilateral side
2) Mechanorecptors terminate in dorsal column nuclei in medulla
3) Secondary neurons cross sensory decussation in medulla, turn and ascend in medial leminscus
4) Secondary neurons terminate in the Ventral Posterior Lateral nucleus
5) Tertiary neurons originate in the VPL and terminate in S1
6) S1 -->SII-->insurlar cortex-->temporal lobe