uear Slr

1hank you for your leLLer l wlll Lry Lo explaln Lhe condlLlon and funcLlon of your nervous dlsablllLy
When you were ouL on paLrol ln AfghanlsLan and Lhe road slde bomb was deLonaLed a plece of
debrls hlL you ln Lhe back of your head aL hlgh speed and knocked you unconsclous As you may
already know Lhe cenLral nervous sysLem ls conLrolled by your braln and splnal cord When Lhe
debrls hlL Lhe back of your head Lhe lmpacLed was so greaL LhaL lL damaged a parL of your braln
known as Lhe cerebellum (|ocated here)



1hls has varled your movemenL you can move buL aL a slower pace 1hls has also affecLed your
balance and posLure you now Lend Lo slouch as Lhe affecL of your posLure 1he nervous sysLem
ouLslde Lhe cenLral nervous sysLem ls called Lhe perlpheral nervous sysLem 1hls sysLem sends
messages back Lo Lhe cenLral nervous sysLem lf you were Lo Louch someLhlng hoL Lhen Lhe
perlpheral nervous sysLem wlll send messages from Lhe parL of Lhe body whlch ls Louchlng Lhe hoL
Lhlng Lo Lhe cenLral nervous sysLem saylng LhaL lL hurLs
MoLor neurons dlsease has also been caused from your ln[urles 1here are Lwo Lypes of moLor
neurons (upper moLor neurons and lower moLor neurons) Lhls dlsease spread Lhrough your body
desLroylng Lhese moLor neurons whlch are essenLlal Lo our volunLary muscles Such as speaklng
walklng breaLhlng and swallowlng normally messages from nerve cells ln Lhe braln (called upper
moLor neurons) are LransmlLLed Lo nerve cells ln Lhe braln sLem and splnal cord (called lower moLor
neurons) and from Lhem Lo parLlcular muscles upper moLor neurons dlrecL Lhe lower moLor
neurons Lo produce movemenLs such as walklng or chewlng Lower moLor neurons conLrol
movemenL ln Lhe arms legs chesL face LhroaL and Longue
When Lhere are dlsrupLlons ln Lhese slgnals Lhe muscles do noL conLracL properly 1he resulL can be
gradual weakenlng wasLlng away and unconLrollable LwlLchlng All cells conLaln LransporL sysLems
whlch move nuLrlenLs and oLher chemlcals lnLo Lhe cell whlle movlng wasLe producLs ouL of Lhe cell
When upper moLor neurons are affecLed Lhe manlfesLaLlons lnclude spasLlclLy or sLlffness of llmb
muscles and overacLlvlLy of Lendon reflexes such as knee and ankle [erks LvenLually Lhe ablllLy Lo
conLrol volunLary movemenL can be losL
nerve cells use speclal messenger chemlcals called neuroLransmlLLers Lo LransmlL lnformaLlon from
one cell Lo anoLher Cne of Lhe neuroLransmlLLers ls called gluLamaLe
MlLochondrla provlde Lhe energy LhaL a cell needs Lo carry ouL lLs normal funcLlon Clla cells
surround and supporL nerve cells such as moLor neurones and help provlde Lhem wlLh nuLrlenLs
Clla cells also help relay lnformaLlon from one nerve cell Lo anoLher
MoLor unlLs conslsL of one alpha moLor neuron LogeLher wlLh all Lhe muscle flbres lL sLlmulaLes A
moLor unlL wlll generally conslsL of a slngle moLor neuron palred wlLh many muscle flbres
1he moLor neuron ls a speclallzed Lype of nervous cell LhaL runs beLween Lhe cenLral nervous sysLem
and Lhe muscles neurons Lyplcally conslsL of a cell body Lhe axon and Lhe dendrlLes lf a neuron
were Lo be seen as a Lree Lhe axon (1he axon th|s |s the |ong body of the motor neurone that
emerges from the sp|na| cord and |ts ma|n funct|on |s the transm|ss|on of nerve |mpu|ses a|ong the
mye||n sheath 1he nerve |mpu|se bounces a|ong the mye||n sheath the th|cker the mye||n sheath
the faster the nerve |mpu|se trave|s 1he mye||n sheath |s an e|ectr|ca| |nsu|ator and a||ows faster
and more energet|ca||y eff|c|ent conduct|on of |mpu|ses) would be analogous Lo Lhe Lrunk and Lhe
dendrlLes Lo Lhe branches neurons found wlLhln Lhe braln normally have shorL axons buL neurons
LhaL are parL of a moLor unlL because Lhey musL connecL Lo Lhe muscles of Lhe body 1he elongaLed
axons LhaL run Lhrough Lhe splnal cord and ouL Lo Lhe assoclaLed muscle flbres Lach muscle flbre ls
connecLed Lo a parLlcular dendrlLe and lL ls Lhrough Lhe dendrlLes LhaL messages are relayed
beLween Lhe cenLral nervous sysLem and Lhe muscle flbre
Cnce a moLor unlL has been acLlvaLed all or none of Lhe muscle flbres wlll conLracL lf Lhe frequency
of Lhe sLlmulus ls hlgh Lhen Lhere wlll be more messages belng senL Lhe sLronger Lhe conLracLlon
uependlng on Lhe number of moLor unlLs Lhe more unlLs Lhe sLronger Lhe conLracLlon

l hope LhaL Lhls was all you wanLed Lo know lf you have anymore problems feel free Lo send me
anoLher leLLer

Adam Ierr|s