Lecture 1.3 Flashcards
What is the spinal role in locomotion?
Gait pattern generation
Modulation of gait cycle by sensory inputs
Increased signals from brainstem increases locomotor rate and triggers gait transition (walking into running in humans)
What happens when the intensity of brain stem signals to the spinal cord is increased?
With an increase in stimulation intensity in the spinal cord the gait pattern changes and increases rate of locomotion via gait transition.
What is the function of the basal ganglia in locomotion?
Allows the selection of complex patterns of voluntary movements.
Evaluating the success of actions in achieving the goals of those actions
Initiates movements.
How do basal ganglia perform their function of selecting patterns of voluntary movement?
Most basal ganglia neurons are inhibitory. They inhibit everything that isn’t required in a movement.
What is the site of damage in parkinson’s disease?
Substantia niagra which is part of the basal ganglia; these neurons synthesize melanin which in turn becomes dopamine. it is absent in parkinson’s disease.
What is the cause of huntington’s disease?
Huntington’s disease involves damage to the caudate nucleus and the putamen.
What is characteristic about huntington’s disease?
This disorder’s movements are called chorea (which means like a dance). Hyperactivity is seen in the hands and feet which are characteristic of this condition..
What are the characteristics of the parkinson’s gait? (Hypokinesia)
Difficulty initiating gait.
Small steps.
Pedestal turning.
Difficulty recovering from a push.
What are the characteristics of the choreiform gait? (hyperkinesia)
Hyperactive movements with lots of involuntary movements.
This is the gait of someone with huntington’s disease.
What is the function of the cerebellum in gait control?
Coordinates the timing and sequence of muscle movement.
The maintenance of muscle tone.
Motor learning.
Planning sequence of muscle activation in complex movements.
What is the name of the gait of a cerebellar disorder?
Ataxia
What does the gait of someone with a cerebellar disorder look like?
Wide stance with unsteadiness in the trunk.
Lots of lunging and jerking movements.
What is the role of the motor cortex in locomotion?
Voluntary initiation of gait
Selection of gait as part of goal directed motor behaviour
Motor cortex takes into account the other actions performed by the body and the environment and integrates them into the motion being performed.
How does motor cortex assist in moving around obstacles?
Motor cortex encounters information from the other parts of the brain involved in the movement and makes adjustments accordingly.
What happens to gait if cerebral input is removed?
Circumducting gait or the hemiparetic gait.
