1. Dorsal Column-Medial Lemniscal Pathway
This pathway transmits information from mechanoreceptors and proprioceptors. First order neurons from the periphery enter the spinal cord through the dorsal root. The main axons ascend the spinal cord in the ipsilateral dorsal column and end in the dorsal column nuclei in the medulla oblongata where they synapse with second-order neurons. Second order neurons cross over to the contralateral side of the medulla in the medial lemniscus and ascend to the thalamus. Third order neurons transmit information from the thalamus to the somatosensory cortex.