Lecture 6: Motor and Premotor Cortex Flashcards
what are the 3 sections of the motor cortex
Primary motor cortex (M1)
Premotor cortex
Supplementary motor
area
which area of the motor cortex has somatotopic organization
the primary motor cortex (M1)
which areas are enlarged in the primary motor cortex’s somatotopic organization?
motor maps for movements are requiring fine motor control are enlarged (fingerers, face, etc)
what kind of movement is the primary motor cortex involved with
voluntary movements of contralateral body parts
what about movement does the primary cortex encode
force, direction, distance, and speed of movement
what is alien hand syndrome
only contralateral primary motor cortex is activated
involuntary uncontrollable movement of the upper extremity
where is the premotor cortex
anterior to the M1 (primary motor cortex) in frontal lobe
what is the function of the premotor cortex?
Motor planning - select the appropriate movement to perform
- Mirror neurons for action observation (watching something we want to learn)
how does the premotor cortex influence motor behaviour
primarily via connections with M1
less commonly via axons projecting though the pyramidal tracts
what do premotor cortex lesions cause
Impaired:
Speed and automaticity of
reaching/grasping
Sequential movements
Gait and posture
what is the function of the Supplementary Motor Area (SMA)
Programming complex sequences and coordinating bilateral movements
- Selects movements based on previous experience
- Active during motor imagery practice (imagining doing an action)
what does an unilateral lesion of the supplementary motor area cause
complete lack of contralateral movement and impaired ipsilateral movement
Antiphase movements can be affected (arms or legs doing different motions like typing or walking)
what are the 3 inputs to the motor cortex to create movement?
intention - prefrontal cortex
planning - premotor cortex +SMA
programming and execution - primary motor cortex
LMNs receive instructions from which 3 sources?
- Upper Motor Neurons
– Descending pathways - Local Circuit Neurons/Interneurons
- Sensory inputs
how are LMNs organized in the anterior horn
▪ Medial = proximal muscles
▪ Lateral = distal muscles
what are interneurons / local circuit neurons?
the “middle man” that branches locally to innervate other neurons
primarily inhibitory towards unwanted movement
do interneurons / local circuit neurons project contra laterally or ipsilaterally?
both
what are the two types of interneurons / local circuit neurons?
long distance
short distance
both link to anterior horn in spinal cord
what are long distance interneurons?
activate medial aspect of anterior horn
span multiple levels of spinal cord and can cross sides
bilateral control of Proximal muscles for balance and postural control
what are short distance interneurons?
Activate lateral aspect of anterior horn
Span few spinal levels and ipsilateral
Distal muscles for fine motor control
what are the 2 kind of tracts of the descending motor pathways
Pyramidal tracts
Extrapyramidal tracts
what are the pyramidal tracts responsible for
skilled, voluntary movements of the limbs
where do extrapyramidal tracts originate
in the brainstem
what are the extrapyramidal tracts responsible for
posture balance, gait
what are the 3 pyramidal pathways
lateral corticospinal pathway
anterior corticospinal pathway
corticobubar pathway
what are the 4 extrapyramidal pathways
- Vestibulospinal Tract
- Reticulospinal Tract
- Tectospinal Tract
- RubrospinalTract