8.0 Motor Systems Flashcards
What is a consequence of a lesion in:<br></br><br></br>a) Association cortex<br></br>b) Cerebellum<br></br>c) Brainstem<br></br>d) lower motor neuron<br></br>e) Primary motor cortex/upper motor neuron<br></br>f) Basal ganglia
a) Association cortex → apraxia<br></br>b) Cerebellum → Ataxia/poor coordination<br></br>c) Brainstem → Postural deficits<br></br>d) lower motor neuron → Flaccid paralysis<br></br>e) Primary motor cortex/upper motor neuron → Spastic paralysis <br></br>f) Basal ganglia → Hyper/hypokinesia
Upper motor neuron vs lower motor neuron lesions:
Upper motor neuron = exaggerated reflexes + spastic paralysis<br></br><br></br>Lower motor neuron = Loss of reflexes + flaccid paralysis
Define ataxia:
Neurological disorder of voluntary coordination of muscle movements
What is noise (with regards to neural signals)?
Random variation in neural signals
What is the motor equivalence problem?
Describes redundancy in the motor system<br></br>Goal directed movement can be achieved in different ways
Define non-linearity
Mixing individual motor commands does not produce predictable results
Define non-stationarity
Behaviour of motor systems can change over time<br></br><br></br>Muscle contraction depends on history (thixotropy)
Define thixotropy
Muscle contraction depends on history
Define negative feedback systems:
A sensed parameter is compared to a desired ‘set point’<br></br>If they match → no output<br></br>If they differ → system will generate a corrective action
Examples of negative feedback systems:
1) Blood glucose<br></br>2) Temperature<br></br>3) Respiration rate<br></br>4) Blood pressure
Advantages of negative feedback systems:
Automatically compensate for unpredicted events that cause deviation from set point (e.g. noise)
Disadvantages of negative feedback systems:
1) Time delays (error signal can be out of date by the time it reaches brain)<br></br>2) Instability and oscillation
Define feed-forward systems:
Motor commands are prepared (by estimation) in advance based on sensory information available<br></br><br></br>Fast movements need feed-forward predictive control
What is an internal model system?
Brain contains an internal model system - it is a representation of the mechanics of the body and the behaviour of the external world
What are the two types of the internal model system?
1) Inverse model<br></br>- Starts with desired movement<br></br>- Needs to be learnt<br></br><br></br>2) Forward model<br></br>- Predicts the consequences of motor commands (before and during movement)<br></br>- Needs internal feedback or efference copy
Define efference copy
An internal copy created of the efferent motor signal, which is input into a forward model
What brain structures are regarded as centres for feedforward control?
1) Cerebellum<br></br>2) Motor cortex
Where are the alpha-motoneurons located in the spinal cord?
Ventral horn
Define a motor unit:
All the muscle fibres innervated by 1 motoneuron
What are the different motor unit categories?<br></br><br></br>Comment on anatomy, biochemistry and physiology
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What is rate coding?
Mechanism of controlling motoneurons<br></br><br></br>Varying the motorneuron firing rate
What is motorneuron recruitment?
Mechanism of controlling motoneurons (more important than rate coding)<br></br><br></br>Varying the number of motoneurons recruited (↑ force needed → ↑ motoneurons recruited)
Define the size principle (motoneuron recruitment):
Motor units are recruited to action in an orderly sequence of increasing force
What are the 3 sources of input into motoneurons?
1) Spinal interneurons (most numerous)<br></br>2) Afferent fibres (only from muscle spindles)<br></br>3) Descending fibres (rare)
What is a proprioceptor?
A receptor that provides information about the state of the body (position/movement of joints/muscle force etc)
Define proprioception:
Perception of position and movement of the body (a.k.a. kinaestheia)
3 types of proprioceptors in motor system:
1) Muscle spindles afferents (signal stretch)<br></br>2) Golgi tendon organ afferents (signal tension)<br></br>3) Joint receptors (signal position and movement)
What are the different types of fibre in a muscle spindle?
1) Intrafusal<br></br>2) Extrafusal
What are the two types of fibre in an intrafusual fibre?
1) Bag fibre (dynamic response to changes in muscle length)<br></br>2) Chain fibre (Static response. Linear response)
What are the two types of sensory fibres in each intrafusal fibre?
1) Primary (Ia) spindle afferent (Aα)<br></br>2) Secondary (II) spindle afferent (Aβ)
What are the motorneurons that supply the muscle spindles? What is their role?
γ-motorneurons<br></br><br></br>Play a role in sensitisation and adaptation of receptors
Draw a stretch reflex:
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Define reciprocal inhibition:
Stimulation of one agonist pathway also excites spinal interneurons that inhibit antagonist muscles
Define muscle clonus:
Brief involuntary muscle contraction (often repeated and rhythmic)
Define recurrent inhibition:
Motorneurons have recurrent collateral branches that innervate an inhibitory interneuron (Renshaw cell) to provide recurrent inhibition of the motorneuron, thus regulating the timing of motor neuron firing.
What are some normal neonatal reflexes?
1) Grasp reflex<br></br>2) Babinski’s sign<br></br>3) Reflex stepping
Define spasticity:
Exaggerated stretch reflexes (muscles are tense and stiff)
Define Babinski’s sign:
Toes turn up to plantar stimulation (normal for neonates, pathological in adults [due to cortical damage])
Define clasp knife reflex:
Limbs snap into extension or flexion
Define central pattern generators:
Central pattern generators (CPGs) are biological neural networks that produce rhythmic patterned outputs without sensory feedback
Muscle spindles comprise a fibrous capsule that contains a number of ____________ muscle fibres. The large primary afferent arising from the muscle spindle arise from annulospiral terminals on these fibres and respond to __________, however taken alone the signals are ambiguous as they can be altered by _______________. The central connections of the muscle spindle afferents include monosynaptic connections with motorneurones of the agonist muscle and with interneurones that mediate _____________inhibition of antagonist motorneurons. In addition to roles in reflex action and in proprioception, a very important role for the signals from muscle spindles is ______________.
Muscle spindles comprise a fibrous capsule that contains a number of <b>intrafusal</b> muscle fibres. The large primary afferent arising from the muscle spindle arise from annulospiral terminals on these fibres and respond to <b>change in length</b>, however taken alone the signals are ambiguous as they can be altered by <b>contraction of the intrafusal fibres</b>. The central connections of the muscle spindle afferents include monosynaptic connections with motorneurones of the agonist muscle and with interneurones that mediate <b>reciprocal</b> inhibition of antagonist motorneurons. In addition to roles in reflex action and in proprioception, a very important role for the signals from muscle spindles is <b>predictive feedforward control</b>.
What are the different descending motor pathways?
<b>Ventromedial pathways</b><br></br>1) Reticulospinal<br></br>2) Vestibulospinal<br></br>3) Tectospinal<br></br><br></br><b>Dorsolateral pathways</b><br></br>1) Corticospinal<br></br>2) Rubrospinal