The Movement System:

Nerve and Muscle Physiology

and the Control of Human
Movement

Physiology of Excitable Tissue:

Nerve and Muscle

-Differences in electrical potential exist across the

membranes of all living cells.

-Two factors are responsible for the ability of

a cell to maintain a potential difference across its
membrane:
� The cell membrane has selective permeability,
However, the permeability of the membrane to an ion can be increased
transiently by certain chemical substances released
by nerve endings

� The cell can actively move ions across the membrane to maintain a required
resting potential.

-The potential inside a cell membrane is measured relative to the fluid just
outside the membrane

-Under resting conditions when no action is occurring,

the membrane potential, aptly called the resting potential, is negative.

-Nerve cells, muscle cells, and sensory

receptors maintain a negative resting potential in the
range of �60 to �90 mV (average = �85mV), between the
inside and outside of their membranes.

The ability to react of the nerve and skeletal muscle to a stimulus is termed
irritability

once nervous and muscular tissues react to a stimulus, the cell membrane changes
its resting potential
and becomes more positive this is termed as depolarization

(membrane more positively charged is called depolarized)

repolarization--means return to its resting potential.

Neurons send �control signals� to other neurons or to

muscles by releasing small amounts of chemicals termed
neurotransmitters

Each time a nerve impulse arrives at

the synapse, , neurotransmitters are released at
the synapse.

The chemical synapse between two neurons may be either excitatory or inhibitory

-Excitatory synapses cause depolarization of the postsynaptic membrane to produce

an action potential.
-In contrast, inhibitory synapses result in a hyperpolarization (more
negative potential) of the postsynaptic membrane

-This inhibition increases the voltage requirement so it is

more difficult to create an action potential.

Nervous System Anatomy

Nervous System Classifications

-neuron is the most basic structure in the nervous system

-axons of the upper motor neurons are located in the cerebral cortex
and descend in the spinal cords

-These upper motor neurons form axonal bundles as corticospinal pathways or tracts.
Corticospinal tracts are
in the lateral and medial portions of the spinal cord,

-The axons of the corticospinal tracts

make synaptic contact, usually via interneurons, with
lower motor neurons.

Lower motor neurons are in the

ventral horn gray matter of the spinal cord. Each lower
motor neuron innervates a set of muscle fibers within a
muscle.

Functionally, the nervous system is divided similarly to

the anatomically based system but with additional clarification.

Nerve Fibers
-Neurons are the functional structure of the nervous system
-aferent and efferent nerves must relay messages quite rapidly, if they are to
perform their
responsibilities effectively
the motor and sensory nerves are wrapped with myelin sheath to provide for the
necessary transmission speed
myelin- a white lipid substance that surrounds the neural axon

NERVE FIBERS IN THE PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM

-FUNCTIONALLY PERIPHERAL NERVES INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING FIBERS; SENSORY, MOTOR AND
AUTONOMIC NERVE FIBERS.

Classification of Motor and Sensory Nerve Fibers

on the Basis of Axonal Diameter in the Peripheral
Nervous System

TYPE A----LARGEST AXONS

TYPE B---INTERMEDIATE DIAMETER
TYPE C----SMALLEST FIBERS