Lecture 13 - Descending Tracts Flashcards
Name the 4 descending pathways
- Corticospinal (Pyramidal) tract
- Corticoreticulospinal tract
- Corticorubrospinal tract
- Vestibulospinal tract
Function of corticospinal tract
Skilled movement of limbs
3 functions of corticoreticulospinal tract
- Posture
- Locomotion
- Autonomic functions (respiration, shivering, sweating, circulation, etc)
Function of the corticorubrospinal tract
Similar to corticospinal so skilled movements of limbs
2 functions of vestibulospinal tract
1.Postural reactions
2. Standing balance
[blank] and [blank] feed input to the brain to regulate descending systems
Basal ganglia and cerebellum
What 4 areas of the brain are important for planning movements and what area are they found in?
They are found in area 4 (primary motor cortex):
1. Somatosensory Cortex
2. Prefrontal cortex
3. Premotor cortex
4. Supplementary motor cortex
Where is area 4/primary motor cortex of the brain located
Precentral gyrus and paracentral lobule of frontal lobe
What is another name for area 4
Primary motor cortex
T or F: The left strip of the primary motor cortex controls the left side, and the right controls the right side
F, left controls right and right controls left
What 2 somatosensory tracts feed into the primary motor cortex/area 4?
- Spinothalamic tract
- Dorsal-column medial lemniscus
What is area 6 also called
Motor Associations Area
What 2 areas comprise the motor associations area/area 6?
- Premotor Area
- Supplementary Area
Function of the premotor area
Input is primarily visual and neuronal activity is triggered by external events
Is the premotor area lateral or medial
Lateral
Function of the supplementary motor area
Input is primarily somatosensory and its neuronal activity is triggered by internal representations
What does internal representations of the supplementary motor area mean
It is memorized sequences or manual tasks/procedures that we do often
What two methods were used to discover somatotopic organization and explain how
- Electrical stimulation
- Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
How: Stimulate certain areas of brain to see what body part reacted
Which parts of the body are represented more medial in the motor cortex
lower extremities
Which parts of the body are represented more lateral in the motor cortex
Face
Somatotopy
How the brain is organized (Where each body part is found in the brain)
Describe what is meant by movement vectors of neurons
Neurons are specialized to move in a particular direction (ex. movement in flexion or extension)
Homunculus
How much of the brain is dedicated to each body part
Explain what is meant by larger areas of a homonculus
These areas are larger because they are dedicated to fine motor control