Descending Motor Pathways Part I Flashcards
In humans when do the earliest tracts of nerve fibers appear
About 2nd fetal month (8 weeks)
When do major descending motor tracts appear
About 5th fetal month
When does sheathing of the spinal cord’s nerve fibers begin
About the middle of fetal life
What tracts myelinate first
The oldest tracts
When does the corticospinal tract begin to myelinate
3rd trimester
When do most of the tracts myelinate
2 years after birth
True or False:
Some tracts aren’t completely myelinated for 20 years
True
What is a morphological term to describe a large group of nerve fibers which are located in a given area
Funiculus
What is a bundle or cluster; morphological; within a funiculus, groups of fibers from diverse origins which share common features are sometimes arranged in smaller bundles of axons
Fasciculus
What is a bundle of secondary sensory fibers in the brainstem which terminate in specific relay nuclei of the diencephalon
Lemniscus
What is a group of nerve fibers which usually have the same origin destination course and function
Tract
What usually refers to the entire neuronal circuit responsible for a particular function and includes all nuclei and tracts associated with that function
Pathway
What makes up the association cortex
Everything that isn’t primary
What lobe is the precentral gyrus part of
Frontal
What cell bodies are in the precentral gyrus
Lateral corticospinal tract
True or False:
There is more brain devoted to movement than anything else
True
Where is the supplemental motor area
Immediately anterior to primary motor cortex
What is the supplemental motor area responsible for
Planning/programming of motor movements
Does the supplemental motor area program the motor commands for speech
Nope
What programs the motor commands for speech
Broca’s area
True or False:
The premotor area’s role in movement is not completely understood
True
Where does the premotor area project
Directly to the spinal cord
What is the premotor area thought to play a role in
Spatial and sensory guidance of movement
What are the 3 primary and association cortical areas devoted to motor function
- Precentral gyrus
- Supplemental motor area
- Premotor area
What are the 2 primary and association cortical areas devoted to sensory function
- Postcentral gyrus
2. Parietal association cortex
What lobe is the post central gyrus a part of
Parietal lobe
Where do most of the projections of the postcentral gyrus go
Brodmann area 3
What is another name for the parietal association cortex
Posterior association cortex
Where is the parietal association cortex located
Immediately posterior to the primary somatosensory cortex
What does the parietal association cortex play an important role in
Planned movements
Where in the white matter does information from the lower parts of the body ascend
Fibers located medially
What is the area where lower body parts send info up the spinal cord called
Fasciculus gracilis
Where in the white matter does information from the upper parts of the body ascend
Fibers located laterally
What is the area where upper body parts send info up the spinal cord called
Fasciculus cuneatus