The key difference between conscious and unconscious proprioception is that conscious proprioception pathway goes to the cerebrum while unconscious proprioception pathway goes to the cerebellum.
Proprioception is the body’s ability to sense the position, movements and action of body parts. It is also known as kinaesthesia. Sometimes, it is described as our “sixth sense”. We can close our eyes and touch the nose with our index finger due to proprioception. Proprioceptors called mechanosensory neurons mediate proprioception. They are distributed throughout the body. Conscious and unconscious proprioception are two components of proprioception. Conscious proprioception pathway runs to the thalamus and cerebral cortex, enabling us to sense the position of a limb. On the other hand, unconscious proprioception pathway runs to the cerebellum, enabling us to walk and perform other complex actions without thinking about which joints to flex or extend.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Conscious Proprioception
3. What is Unconscious Proprioception
4. Similarities Between Conscious and Unconscious Proprioception
5. Side by Side Comparison – Conscious vs Unconscious Proprioception in Tabular Form
6. Summary
What is Conscious Proprioception?
Conscious proprioception is the ability to activate the movement of muscles voluntarily according to the sensory information within the body. In other words, it is the connection between mind and body. The sensors located inside the body generates sensory information and send it to the brain through the nervous system. Therefore, conscious proprioception causes the brain to send necessary signals throughout the body for position, motion, and equilibrium of the body. The relative position, motion and equilibrium depend on the baseline theory of human health. This focuses on the positioning, balance, and alignment of the body.
Figure 01: Conscious Proprioception
Conscious proprioception communicates through the dorsal column medial lemniscus pathway to the cerebrum. The dorsal column-medial lemniscus pathway is a sensory pathway that sends localized sensations to the thalamus and cerebral cortex from skin and joints.
What is Unconscious Proprioception?
Unconscious proprioception is the activation of muscle movement according to the sensory information within the body without having to think about the movement. Unconscious proprioception communicates through the dorsal spinocerebellar tract and ventral spinocerebellar tract to the cerebellum. The dorsal spinocerebellar tract passes sensory information in skeletal muscles and joints to the cerebellum. The ventral spinocerebellar tract passes sensory information in the body to the cerebellum. Unconscious proprioception often shows reflex righting responses. Reflex righting response is a sudden automatic movement that corrects the direction of the body when it is taken out of the normal position. Unconscious proprioception also causes the brain to send necessary signals throughout the body to maintain relative position, motion, and equilibrium of the body.
What are the Similarities Between Conscious and Unconscious Proprioception?
- Conscious and unconscious are two types of proprioceptions.
- Both make us sense the body position and self movements.
- Conscious proprioception and unconscious proprioception are involved in muscle movements according to sensory information within the body.
- They stimulate the brain to send signals throughout the body to maintain position, motion, and equilibrium.
What is the Difference Between Conscious and Unconscious Proprioception?
Conscious proprioception is the activation of muscles voluntarily, while unconscious proprioception is the activation of muscle movements involuntarily in response to stimuli. Conscious proprioception communicates through the dorsal column medial lemniscus pathway to the cerebrum, while unconscious proprioception communicates through the dorsal spinocerebellar tract and ventral spinocerebellar tract to the cerebellum. So, this is the key difference between conscious proprioception and unconscious proprioception.
Below is a summary of the difference between conscious proprioception and unconscious proprioception in tabular form.
Summary – Conscious vs Unconscious Proprioception
Conscious proprioception involves voluntary muscle movement. It facilitates the thought of becoming aware of the sensory information in the body before muscle movements. Conscious Proprioception connects with the cerebral cortex and thalamus to make movements. Unconscious proprioception involves involuntary muscle movement. This activates a body movement in response to sensory information without having to think before muscle movement. Unconscious proprioception connects with the cerebellum and shows reflex righting responses. Thus, this summarizes the difference between conscious and unconscious proprioception.
Reference:
1. “Conscious proprioception.” Lesswrong.com, April 28, 2021, Available here.
2. “Unconscious proprioception.” Project Gutenberg, April 28, 2021, Available here.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Proprioception image-01” By John Tuthill – Own work (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia