CHAPTER 8: CONTROL OF MOVEMENT

Topic 1: Skeletal Muscle

-one of the muscles attached to bones
-muscles are fastened to bones via tendons, strong bands of
connective tissue.

Classes of movements:

 Flexion -a movement of a limb that tends to bend its joints

 Extension - a movement of a limb that tends to straighten its joints

Subtopic 1: Anatomy

Two types of muscle fibers:

 Intrafusal muscle fiber - a muscle fiber that functions as a stretch

receptor, arranged parallel to the extrafusal muscle fiber, thus detecting
changes in muscle length
 Extrafusal muscle fiber -responsible for the force exerted by contraction
of skeletal muscle

 Alpha motor neuron - a neuron whose axon forms synapses with

extrafusal muscle fiber of a skeletal muscle; activation contracts the muscle
fiber
 Gamma motor neuron - a neuron whose axons forms synapses with
intrafusal muscle fiber
 Motor unit - a motor neuron and is associated with muscle fibers
 Myofibril - an element of muscle fibers that consists of overlapping
strands of actin and myosin; responsible for muscular contraction
 actin - one of the proteins (with myosin) that provide the physical basis for
muscular contraction.
 myosin - one of the proteins (with actin) that provide the physical basis for
muscular contraction.
 striated muscle - skeletal muscle; muscle that contains striations.

Subtopic 2: The Physical Basis of Muscular Contraction

 neuromuscular junction - the synapse between the terminal buttons of an

axon and a muscle fiber.
 motor endplate - the postsynaptic membrane of a neuromuscular junction.
 endplate potential - the postsynaptic potential that occurs in the motor
endplate in response to release of acetylcholine by the terminal button.
 Mechanism of muscular contraction
-The myosin cross bridges alternately attached to the actin strands, bend
in one direction, detach themselves, bend back, reattach in to the actin at a
point farther down the strand and so on. Thus, the cross bridges "row" along
the actin filaments.

 Action potentials and contractions of a muscle fiber

A rapid succession of action potentials can cause a muscle fiber to
produce a sustained contraction.

Subtopic 3: Sensory Feedback from Muscles

-The Intrafusal Muscle Fiber contain sensory endings that are sensitive
to stretch. The Intrafusal Muscle Fiber are arranged in parallel with the
Extrafusal Muscle Fiber. Therefore, they are stretched when the muscle
lengthens and are relaxed when it shortens.

 Golgi tendon organ - the receptor organ at the junction of the tendon and
muscle that is sensitive to stretch.

Topic 2: Reflexive Control of Movement

Subtopic 1: Monosynaptic Stretch

-A reflex in which a muscle contracts in response to its being
quickly stretched; involves a sensory neuron and a motor neuron,
with one synapse between them.
-Only one synapse is encountered along the route from receptor
to effector—hence the term monosynaptic.

Subtopic 2: The Gamma Motor System

-The brain makes use of the gamma motor system in moving the
limbs.
-by establishing a rate of firing in the gamma motor system, the
brain controls the length of the muscle spindles and, indirectly,
the length of the entire muscle.

Subtopic 3: Polysynaptic Stretch

-Polysynaptic reflexes contain at least one interneuron between
the sensory neuron and the motor neuron.
-A strong muscular contraction threatens to damage muscles or
limbs, the increased rate of firing of the afferent axons of Golgi
tendon organs stimulates inhibitory interneurons, which inhibit
the alpha motor neurons of those muscles.
 Topic 3: CONTROL OF MOVEMENT BY THE BRAIN

SUBTOPIC 1: ORGANIZATION OF THE MOTOR CORTEX

Pre-supplementary motor area

 located on the medial aspect of the brain; in the
the dorsomedial frontal cortex, anterior to the leg representation of the
primary motor cortex.
 Involved in the more cognitive aspects of motor behavior, possibly in
updating motor plans and in the learning of new motor.
 Involved in the control of spontaneous movements- or at least in the
perception of control.
Supplementary motor area (SMA)
 A region of motor association cortex of the dorsal and
the dorsomedial frontal lobe, rostral to the primary motor cortex.
 Involved in programming complex sequences of movements and
coordinating bilateral movements.
 SMA syndrome is defined as temporary paralysis and mutism.
Severe during the acute phase, recovery usually occurs within.
Relatively short periods rarely result in a permanent deficit.
Premotor cortex
 A region of motor association cortex of the lateral frontal lobe, rostral
to the primary motor cortex.
 Prepares and executes movements of the limbs, through coordination
with other parts of the brain in choosing the appropriate motions.
 Damage to the premotor may result in:
 Apraxia – a neurological disorder characterized by loss of the
ability to execute or carry out skilled movements and gestures,
despite having the desire and the physical ability to perform
them.
 Deficit in collateral fine motor control; such as performance of
complex serial movements.
 Difficulty in using sensory feedback; for the control and
performance of movements.
Primary motor cortex
 A region of the motor association cortex that is located in the
dorsal portion of the frontal lobe.
 To generate signals to direct the movement of the body.

Damaged; loss of coordination and poor dexterity.
Precentral gyrus
 Also known as the motor strip of the primary motor cortex.
 the anatomical location of the primary motor cortex, which is
responsible for controlling voluntary motor movement on the body's
contralateral side.
 Responsible for executing voluntary movements.
 Voluntary movements - work according to the desire
or under conscious control.
 Involuntary movements - work under the control of the
autonomous nervous system of the body.
 Damaged; results in paralysis of the contralateral side of the body
(facial palsy, arm/leg monoperesis, hemisparesis)
Motor homunculus
 a topographic representation of the body parts and their correspondents
along the precentral gyrus of the frontal lobe.
Somatotopic organization
 A topographically organized mapping of parts of the body that are
represented in a particular region of the brain.

Cortical area
 areas of the brain are located in the cerebral cortex.
 (frontal lobe, parietal lobe, temporal lobe, occipital lobe)

Corpus callosum

 A thick bundle of nerve fibers connects the right and left hemispheres.
 a large bundle of more than 200 million myelinated nerve fibers that
connect the two brain hemispheres, permitting communication between
the right and left sides of the brain.
 Ensures both sides of the brain can communicate and send signals to
each other.
 Damaged:
 may have delays in attaining developmental milestones such as
walking, talking, or reacting.
 challenges with social interactions
 clumsiness and poor motor coordination (particularly on skills
that require coordination of left and right hands and feet)
Neural circuit

 a population of neurons interconnected by synapses to carry out specific

functions when motivated.
 Serve as the pathway in the brain for thought and movement.
 Interconnect with one another to form large-scale brain networks.
Motor neuron

 Cells in the brain and spinal cord allow us to move, speak, swallow, and
breathe by sending commands from the brain to the muscles that carry
out these functions.
 Carry signals to your muscles or glands to help you move and function.
Frontal association cortex

 Frontal lobe.
 Involved in planning actions and movement, as well as abstract thought.
 Language abilities are localized in the left hemisphere in Broca’s area
for language expression and wernicke’s area for language reception.

SUBTOPIC 2: CORTICOL CONTROL OF MOVEMENT:

DESCENDING PATHWAYS

 Neurons in the primary motor cortex control movements by two groups

of descending tracts.
Lateral group

 primarily involved in the control of independent limb movements,

particularly
movements of the hands and fingers.

 Corticospinal tract - The system of axons that originates in the

motor cortex and terminates in the ventral gray matter of the
spinal cord.

 Corticobulbar tract - A bundle of axons from the motor cortex

to the fifth, seventh, ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth cranial
nerves; controls movements of the face, neck, tongue, and parts
of the extraocular eye muscles.
  Rubrospinal tract -The system of axons that travels from the red
nucleus to the spinal cord; controls independent limb movements.

Ventromedial group

 control more automatic movements: gross movements of the muscles of

the trunk and coordinated trunk and limb movements involved in
posture and locomotion.

 Vestibulospinal tract - A bundle of axons that travels from the

vestibular nuclei to the gray matter of the spinal cord; controls
postural movements in response to information from the
vestibular system.

 Tectospinal tract - A bundle of axons that travels from the

tectum to the spinal cord; coordinates head and trunk
movements with eye movements.
 Reticulospinal tract - A bundle of axons that travels from the
reticular formation to the gray matter of the spinal cord;
controls the muscles responsible for postural movements.

 Ventral corticospinal tract - The system of axons that

originates in the motor cortex and terminates in the ipsilateral
ventral gray matter of the spinal cord; controls movements of
the upper legs and trunk.

 Pyramidal tract - The portion of the corticospinal tract on the

ventral border of the medulla.

 Lateral corticospinal tract - The system of axons that originates in

the motor cortex and terminates in the contralateral ventral gray
matter of the spinal cord; controls movements of the distal limbs.

 Corticorubral tract - The system of axons that travels from the

motor cortex to the red nucleus.

SUBTOPIC 3: PLANNING AND INITIATING MOVEMENTS: ROLE

OF THE MOTOR ASSOCIATION CORTEX
  The supplementary motor area and the premotor cortex are involved in
the planning of movements, and they execute these plans through their
connections with the primary motor cortex.

 The supplementary motor area and the premotor cortex receive

information from association areas of the parietal and temporal cortex.

Ventral stream

 terminates in the inferior temporal cortex.

 involved in perceiving and recognizing a particular object.
Dorsal stream

 terminates in the posterior parietal lobe.

 involved in the perception of location.

Parietal lobes

 involved in organizing visually guided movements that interact with

objects in the environment.

THE SUPPLEMENTARY MOTOR AREA

 involved in learning and performing behaviors that consist of sequences
of
movements.
 involved in planning the elements yet to come in sequences of
movements.

PRE-SUPPLEMENTARY MOTOR AREA

 involved in the control of spontaneous movements—or at least in the

perception of control.

FRONTOPOLAR CORTEX

 located at the rostral tip of the cerebral hemispheres.

  Play a critical role in deciding to make a motor response.

PREFRONTAL CORTEX

 Plays a critical role in the decision-making of the kind the investigators

studied.

POSTERIOR PARIETAL CORTEX

 involved in storing the information about the decision and transmitting it

to the SMA, where the process of executing the response begins.

PREMOTOR CORTEX

 involved in learning and executing complex movements that are guided

by sensory information.
 involved in learning and executing complex movements that are guided
by sensory information.

SUBTOPIC 4: IMITATING AND COMPREHENDING MOVEMENTS:

ROLE OF THE MIRROR NEURON SYSTEM

Mirror neurons

 neurons located in the ventral premotor cortex and inferior parietal

lobule that respond when the individual makes a particular movement or
sees another individual making that movement.

SUBTOPIC 5: Control of Reaching and Grasping

Deficits of Skilled Movements: The Apraxias

 Loss of the ability to execute or carry out skilled movements and

gestures, despite having the desire and the physical ability to perform
them.

Limb Apraxia
  Limb apraxia is characterized by movement of the wrong part of the
limb, incorrect movement of the correct part, or correct movements but
in the incorrect sequence.

Constructional Apraxia

 Is caused by lesions of the right hemisphere particularly the right

parietal lobe.

The Basal Ganglia

 It is a group of structures near the center of your brain that form

important connections. These connections allow different areas of your
brain to work together.
The Cerebellum

 Is a part of the brain that plays a vital role in most physical movement.