Actions and Motor Control Flashcards

1
Q

What is the process during an action?

A

Hundreds of muscle fibres must contract in a correct sequence and the correct amount of force

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2
Q

What does understanding motor control help with?

A

Can lead to improvements in treatment of people affected by movement disorders, can lead to improvements in human/object interfaces

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3
Q

What are the ways we study motor control?

A

Behavioural, muscle physiology, single unit electrophysiology, neuroimaging

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4
Q

How do we behaviourally study motor control?

A

Using video or electronic recording equipment to record the position of body parts in space and time.

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5
Q

What can behavioural methods measure?

A

Speed, accuracy and kinematics

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6
Q

What are the strengths of behavioural methods of studying motor control?

A

Allows us to systematically investigate the output of the action system

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7
Q

What are the limitations of behavioural methods of studying motor control?

A

Not a direct measurement of brain activity

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8
Q

What does muscle physiology record?

A

Records the activity of individual muscles or muscle fibers during action

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9
Q

What are the strengths of muscle physiology?

A

Allows an understanding of how muscles operate

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10
Q

What are the limitations of muscle physiology?

A

Not a direct measurement of brain activity

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11
Q

What do they do in single unit electrophysiology?

A

They implant electrodes in the brain and record activity of individual neurones

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12
Q

What does single unit electrophysiology record?

A

A number of neurones and measure their activity in real time

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13
Q

What are the strengths of single unit electrophysiology?

A

Allows for excellent spatial and temporal resolution at the level of a single neurone

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14
Q

What are the limitations of a single unit electrophysiology?

A

Cannot examine more than a miniscule percentage of the neurone at any one time

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15
Q

What neuroimagery is used in motor control?

A

fMRI and EEG

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16
Q

What are the strengths of neuroimaging?

A

Allows for a direct measure of activity in the human brain

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17
Q

What are the limitations of neuroimaging?

A

Recording equipment can restrict movement. Can be hard to localise processing in space or time.

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18
Q

How do muscles attach to the skeleton?

A

At the origin and insertion

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19
Q

What are muscles?

A

A collection of multiple muscle fibers

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20
Q

What do muscle spindles and Golgi tendon organs provide in muscles?

A

Proprioceptive information from the muscle

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21
Q

How are muscle spindles and la axons specialised?

A

For detection of changes of muscle length

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22
Q

How are muscles organised?

A

Antagonistic pairs with extensors extending the join and flexors contracting the joint

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23
Q

What causes muscle contraction?

A

Motor neurones release neurotransmitters at the neuromuscular junction

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24
Q

What is the process at the neuromuscular junction?

A

Acetylcholine binds to the ionotropic receptors causing depolarisation.
Voltage gated ion channels open.
Rapid depolarisation allows an in-flow of calcium.
Calcium inside causes actin and myosin proteins to interact.
Acetylcholinesterase removed the neurotransmitter to end the contraction.

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25
Q

What are the three components of motor behaviour?

A

Motor control, motor learning, motor development

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26
Q

What is motor control?

A

An area of study stressing primarily the principles of human skilled movements generated at the behavioural level of analysis

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27
Q

What is motor learning?

A

A set of internal processes associated with practice or experience leading to permanent changes in the capability of motor skill

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28
Q

What is motor development?

A

A field of study concerning the changes in motor behaviour occurring as a result of growth, maturation and experience

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29
Q

What is the hierarchy of motor control system?

A

Non-primary motor cortex, primary motor cortex, brainstem, spinal cord, the muscle of the body

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30
Q

What does the non-primary motor cortex do?

A

It is an additional source of motor commands

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31
Q

What does the primary motor cortex do?

A

Initiates the motor commands

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32
Q

What does the brainstem do?

A

Integrate motor commands from higher levels of the brain and transmits them to the spinal cord

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33
Q

What does the spinal cord do?

A

Crucial for controlling body movement, transfers input to motor neurones, locomotion, central pattern generator

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34
Q

What is the central pattern generator?

A

Neural circuitry responsible for generating rhythmic pattern of behaviour such as walking

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35
Q

What are reflexes?

A

Simple automatic movements coordinated by the spinal cord

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36
Q

What do proprioceptors do in reflexes?

A

Detect a stretch and trigger a motor response to counteract the stretch

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37
Q

What do cranial motor nuclei of the brainstem do?

A

Send axons directly to innervate muscles of the head and neck

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38
Q

What is the pathway from brain to control movement?

A

The brain–>spinal cord–> to control muscles

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39
Q

What is the pyramidal system?

A

How neuronal cell bodies i the cerebral cortex and their axons that pass through the brainstem to form the pyramidal tract of the spinal cord

40
Q

What occurs in the medulla in the pyramidal system?

A

Decussation the pyramidal tract from the right hemisphere crossing the midline to innervate the left spinal cord and vice versa

41
Q

What does motor output come from?

A

The motor cortex (primary and non-primary motor cortices)

42
Q

How does motor output project for movement?

A

Projects through pyramidal tract to the spinal cord where it synapses with peripheral motor neurones

43
Q

What is the other pathway for control of movement?

A

Extrapyramidal system

44
Q

What occurs the extrapyramidal system when controlling movement?

A

The other pathways run parallel from cortex, basal ganglia and cerebellum via the brainstem and spinal cord. They run outside the pyramidal tract.

45
Q

What are the motor control systems in the cortex?

A

Primary motor cortex, premotor cortex, supplementary motor cortex

46
Q

What is the source of pyramidal tract neurones?

A

Primary motor cortex

47
Q

What does the primary motor cortex do?

A

Planning, control and execution of voluntary movements

48
Q

What does the premotor cortex do?

A

Important in motor coordination

49
Q

What do lesions in the premotor cortex do?

A

Impairments in stability of stance, gait and hand coordination

50
Q

What does supplementary motor cortex do?

A

Conception and initiation of movement

51
Q

What do lesions in the supplementary motor cortex do?

A

Deficits in voluntary movement or speech

52
Q

Where is the primary motor cortex?

A

In the frontal lobe and anterior to the central sulcus

53
Q

What does TMS do?

A

Temporarily disrupts brain activity in healthy humans using a magnetic coil. Causes temporary virtual lesions and the effects can last from msec to miute

54
Q

What do areas with more motor control look like in homunculus?

A

They look larger

55
Q

What are the controversies with the primary motor cortex?

A

It can be debated whether muscles or movements are represented in M1, newer research with longer stimulation suggests that the map can be more complex than homunculus, longer stimulus evokes complete movements

56
Q

What is mirror neurones?

A

Neurones that are active when performing an action or when observing another individual perform a similar action

57
Q

What is the basal ganglia?

A

A group of subcortical forebrain nuclei

58
Q

What is the 2 structures of the basal ganglia?

A

Striatum and globus palludus

59
Q

What is the components of the striatum?

A

Caudate nuclei and putamen

60
Q

What does the basal ganglia do in motor control system?

A

Modulate patterns of motor activity

61
Q

What does the cerebellum do in motor control system?

A

Control neural programs fro the execution of skilled movements and motor learning

62
Q

Where does the basal ganglia project to?

A

Areas involved in motor control, cognition and judgement

63
Q

What matter structure are in basal ganglia?

A

Grey matter structure deep in white matter

64
Q

What does the basal ganglia initiate and maintain?

A

Activity in the cortex

65
Q

What other areas are functionally connected to the basal ganglia?

A

The subthalamic nucleus and substantia nigra

66
Q

What is a disease of the basal ganglia?

A

Parkinson’s disease

67
Q

What are the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease?

A

Resting tremors in limbs, muscle rigidity, akinesia, stooped posture, shuffling gait, excessive sweating

68
Q

What is Parkinson’s disease caused by?

A

Progressive destruction of the dopaminergic neurones of the substantia nigra

69
Q

What is the cerebellum important for?

A

Motor coordination and fine tuned motor control

70
Q

What does injury to the cerebellum do?

A

Results in impairments to the coordination, accuracy and timing of movement

71
Q

What does the cerebellum send to the brain and spinal cord?

A

Excitatory connections

72
Q

What does the cerebellum combine?

A

Sensory and motor information to predict where an object will be at some future point in time

73
Q

Where does forward modelling occur?

A

In the cerebellum

74
Q

What is forward modelling?

A

When you are trying to touch a moving object and you will miss an object if you steer your hand to its current location

75
Q

What is a closed loop system?

A

A system that is trying to maximise accuracy

76
Q

Where else does the cerebellum send projections to and what does it influence?

A

Frontal lobe
Influences cognition, emotion, motivation and judgement

77
Q

What can EEGs measure?

A

A readiness potential

78
Q

What is the Libet task procedure?

A

PPs asked to take note of the time of a clock when they decided to press a button

79
Q

What were the findings from the Libet task?

A

The intent to move occurred 200msec before the movement but the readiness potential rises earlier

80
Q

What occurs during muscle contraction?

A
  1. Ca2+ binds to troponin
  2. Tropomyosin shifts position and myosin binding sites on the actin are exposed
  3. Myosin head bind actin
  4. Myosin heads pivot
  5. ATP binds to each myosin head and disengages from actin
81
Q

What is the somatic motor system?

A

How the smooth muscle lines the digestive tract, arteries and innervated by nerve fibres from the ANS

82
Q

What are the 3 musculatures in the somatic motor system?

A

Axial, proximal and distal

83
Q

What does the axial musculature do?

A

Maintains posture

84
Q

What does the proximal musculature do?

A

Locomotion

85
Q

What does the distal musculature do?

A

Manipulation of objects through the hands

86
Q

How will the central nervous system control muscle contraction?

A

By varying the firing rate of the motor neurones and recruiting additioning synergistic motor units

87
Q

What are the types of motor units?

A

Slow fibers, fast fibers

88
Q

What are the two subtypes of fast fibres?

A

Fast fatigable and fatigue resistant

89
Q

What are the characterisitcs of slow fibres?

A

Darker, more mitochondria, enzymes specialised for oxidative energy metabolism, slow to contract, sustains contraction for long periods of time without fatigue

90
Q

What are characteristics of fast fibres?

A

Pale, less mitochondria, anaerobic metabolism, contracts fast and powerfully, fatigues more,

91
Q

What are characteristics of fast fatigable fibres?

A

Strongests and fastest contraction, quick exhaustion when stimulated at high frequency

92
Q

What are characteristics of fatigue resistant fibres?

A

Moderately strong and fast contractions, resistant to fatigue

93
Q

What are muscle fibres enclosed by?

A

The sarcolemma

94
Q

What are myofibrils?

A

Structures in the muscle fibre that contract in response to the action potential going down the sarcolemma

95
Q

What are the two different pathways for how the brain communicates with the motor neurones of the spinal cord?

A

The lateral column of the spinal cord and the ventromedial column

96
Q

What is the lateral column of the spinal cord involved in?

A

The voluntary movement of the distal musculature

97
Q

What is the ventromedial column of the spinal cord involved in?

A

Control of posture and locomotion