ORGANIZATION OF MOTOR SYSTEM

SPINAL MOTOR NEURON

MOTOR UNIT
NEUROMUSCULAR JUNCTION
TYPES OF MUSCLE CONTRACTION
MUSCLE SPINDLE
STRETCH REFLEX
GOLGI TENDON ORGAN
FEEDBACK INHIBITION: GOLGI TENDON
ORGAN
WITHDRAWAL REFLEX
WITHDRAWAL AND CROSSED EXTENSOR
REFLEX
ALPHA AND GAMMA MOTOR NEURONS ARE
COACTIVATED DURING VOLUNTARY MOVEMENTS
SPINAL ANIMAL
CAT HIND LIMB ACTIVITY DURING STEPPING
LOCOMOTOR CENTER IN CAT
MOTOR CORTEX IN PRECISE STEPPING
LOCOMATION
MOTOR CORTICAL CENTER
FUNCTIONAL ORGANIZATION OF THE
PRIMARY MOTOR CORTEX
CORTICOSPINAL PATHWAY
CORTICO RUBROSPINAL PATHWAY
CONVERGENCE OF MOTOR CONTROL ON THE
ANTERIOR MOTOR NEURON
CORTICOMOTONEURONAL (CM) CELL IS ACTIVE DEPENDS ON THE
MOTOR TASK
ACTIVITY IN INDIVIDUAL NEURONS OF THE PRIMARY MOTOR CORTEX IS RELATED TO
MUSCLE FORCE AND DIRECTION OF MOVEMENT
A SET-RELATED NEURON IN THE DORSAL PREMOTOR AREA BECOMES
ACTIVE WHILE THE MONKEY PREPARES TO MAKE A MOVEMENT TO THE
LEFT
MOTOR CORTICAL CELL FIRING WITH FORCE
GENERATED
DIFFERENT AREAS OF CORTEX ARE ACTIVATED DURING
SIMPLE, COMPLEX, AND IMAGINED SEQUENCES OF FINGER
MOVEMENTS (XENON PET)
CELL ACTIVITY IN THE MOTOR CORTEX DEPENDS ON WHETHER A SEQUENCE OF
MOVEMENTS IS GUIDED BY VISUAL CUES OR BY PRIOR TRAINING
THE VISUOMOTOR TRANSFORMATIONS REQUIRED FOR REACHING AND
GRASPING INVOLVE TWO DIFFERENT PATHWAYS
Individual neurons
in the ventral
premotor area fire
during specific hand
actions only
MOTOR PLANNING
 Mirror Neurons

A. ACTIVITY IN THE NEURON AS THE

MONKEY OBSERVES ANOTHER
MONKEY MAKE A PRECISION GROUP.
B. ACTIVITY IN THE SAME NEURON AS
THE MONKEY OBSERVES THE HUMAN
EXPERIMENTER MAKE THE PRECISION
GRIP.
C. ACTIVITY IN THE SAME NEURON AS
THE MONKEY ITSELF PERFORMS A
PRECISION GRIP. (FROM RIZZOLOTTI ET AL
1996.)
SUMMARY
 Primary Motor Cortex:
 Codes force and direction of movement
 Spinal motor neuron are directly under control for
precise movement.
 Dorsal Premotor Cortex
 Movement related neuron encodes sensorimotor
transformation for visual and sensory cue
 Fire before movement
 Ventral Premotor Cortex
 Encodes learned motor act fire before movement

 All cortical neurons are adaptable and plastic

BASAL GANGLIA
FUNCTIONAL ORGANIZATION OF BG
MOTOR COMPONENT OF BASAL
GANGLIA
BASAL GANGLIA IN EXECUTING PATTERNS OF
MOTOR ACTIVITY— THE PUTAMEN CIRCUIT
COGNITIVE CONTROL OF SEQUENCES OF
MOTOR PATTERNS—THE CAUDATE CIRCUIT
NEUROTRANSMITTERS OF BG
FUNCTION OF BG
 Voluntary movement
 Initiation of movement
 Control of ramp movement
 Change from one pattern to other
 Programming and correcting movement while in
progress (thalamocortical circuts)
 Postural control
 Righting reflex
 Automatic associated movement (walking)

 Control of muscle tone

 Reticulospinal
 Vestibulospinal
CEREBELLUM
FUNCTIONAL ORGANIZATION OF CEREBELLUM
AFFERENT PATHWAY OF BRAIN
SPINOCEREBELLAR PATHWAY
OUTPUT SIGNALS FROM THE CEREBELLUM
NEOCEREBELLUM
VESTIBULOCEREBELLUM
THE SPINOCEREBELLUM CONTAINS TWO SOMATOTOPIC NEURAL MAPS
OF THE BODY
NEURONAL CIRCUIT OF THE FUNCTIONAL
UNIT
 CONTROL OF VOLUNTARY MOVEMENT

Planning Execution
Basal
Ganglia

Association Premotor +
Idea Movement
cortex Motor cortex

Lateral
cerebellum Intermediate
Cerebellum