Chapter 19

Chapter 19
Neural Control of Human Movement
Copyright © 2007 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. McArdle, Katch, and Katch: Exercise Physiology: Energy,
Nutrition, and Human Performance, Sixth Edition
Neuromotor System Organization
• 2 major parts
– Central nervous system (CNS)
– Peripheral nervous system
Central Nervous System—The Brain
• 6 main areas
– Medulla oblongata
– Pons
– Midbrain
– Cerebellum
– Diencephalon
– Telencephalon
Brainstem
• Medulla, pons, and midbrain
– Medulla: serves as a bridge between the spinal
cord and pons and cerebellum
– Midbrain: connects the pons and cerebral
hemispheres
Cerebellum
• Monitors and coordinates areas of the brain
involved in motor control
• Fine tunes muscular activity
Diencephalon
• Thalamus
• Hypothalamus: regulates many bodily
functions
– Epithalamus
– Subthalamus
Telencephalon
• Contains two hemispheres of cerebral
cortex
• 4 lobes
– Frontal
– Parietal
– Temporal
– Occipital
Limbic System
• Borders the brainstem and corpus callosum
Central Nervous System—
The Spinal Cord
• 45 cm long, 1 cm diameter
• Encased by 33 vertebrae
• Provides for two-way flow of
communication between brain and
periphery via nerve tracts and sensory
receptors
Peripheral Nervous System
• 31 pairs of spinal nerves
• 12 pairs of cranial nerves
Peripheral Nervous System
• 2 types of efferent neurons
– Somatic neurons: innervate skeletal muscle
– Autonomic neurons: activate smooth muscle,
cardiac muscle, sweat and salivary glands, and
some endocrine glands
Sympathetic and Parasympathetic
Nervous Systems
• Sympathetic
– Heart
– Smooth muscle
– Sweat glands
– Viscera
• Parasympathetic
– Thorax
– Abdomen
– Pelvic regions
Reflex Arc
• Afferent neurons enter spinal cord via
dorsal root.
– Transmit sensory input
• Synapse with interneurons in spinal cord
• Efferent signals return via anterior motor
neurons to the effector organ.
Nerve Supply to Muscle
• Each muscle fiber is innervated.
• The number of muscle fibers per motor
neuron is related to a muscle’s function.
Motor Unit Anatomy
• Motor unit: one motor neuron and the
specific muscle fibers it innervates
• Motor neuron pool: collection of motor
neurons that innervate a single muscle
The Anterior Motoneuron
• Cell body
• Axon
• Myelin sheath
• Schwann cell
• Neurilemma
• Nodes of Ranvier
• Dendrites
Neuromuscular Junction (Motor
Endplate)
• Interface between the end of a motor
neuron and a muscle fiber
• Anatomic features of a neuromuscular
junction
– Presynaptic terminals
– Synaptic cleft
– Postsynaptic membrane
Excitation
• The AP stimulates the sac-like vesicles at
the NMJ to release ACh.
• Endplate potential
• Action potential
• ACh hydrolysis by cholinesterase
Facilitation
• Threshold for excitation
– Excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP)
– Resting membrane potential
– Temporal summation
– Spatial summation
Inhibition
• Inhibitory postsynaptic potential (IPSP)

• Hyperpolarizes the neuron
• Prevents initiation of action potential
Motor Unit Functional
Characteristics
• Classified by
– Twitch characteristics
– Tension characteristics
– Fatigability
Twitch Characteristics
• 3 general patterns
– Type IIb = Fast twitch, high force, fast fatigue
– Type IIa = Fast twitch, moderate force, fatigue
resistant
– Type I = Slow twitch, low tension, fatigue
resistant
Tension Characteristics
• Gradation of force
– Number of motor units recruited
– Discharge frequency
– Neuromuscular fatigue
Receptors in Muscles, Joints, and
Tendons: The Proprioceptors
• Proprioceptors relay information about
muscular dynamics and limb movement.
Muscle Spindles
• Located in muscles
• Provide information on fiber length and
tension
• Allow for adjustments in muscle tension
or force
• Stretch reflex
– Spindle responding to stretch
– Afferent nerve fiber
– Efferent spinal cord motor neuron
Golgi Tendon Organs
• Located at musculotendonous junction
• Detect difference in tension generated by
active muscle
• Respond to tension generated by
– Muscle contraction
– Passive stretch
• Protect muscle from excessive load
Pacinian Corpuscles
• Small ellipsoidal bodies
• Located near Golgi tendon organs
• Embedded in a single unmyelinated nerve
fiber
• Detect changes in movement or pressure

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• Inhibitory postsynaptic potential (IPSP)

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