Lecture 7 - Neuromuscular Aspects of Movement II Flashcards
1
Q
what is the CNS?
A
- the central nervous system
- the brain
- the spinal cord
2
Q
what is the PNS?
A
- the peripheral nervous system
- nerve branch pairs (12 cranial and 31 spinal)
- plexuses (cervical, brachial, lumbar and sacral)
3
Q
where are nerve branch pairs located?
A
- between each pair of spinal vertebrae
4
Q
where are plexuses located?
A
- after leaving the spinal column, branches are formed
5
Q
what are the two types of nerves?
A
- afferent and efferent
6
Q
what are afferent nerves?
A
- aka sensory nerves
- to brain
- sensory
7
Q
what are efferent nerves?
A
- aka motor nerves
- leaving brain
- motor
- control movements of the muscles
8
Q
what is a myotome?
A
- the area of muscle controlled by a specific nerve pair
- differ slightly between people
9
Q
what is a dermatome?
A
- the area of the body ‘felt’ by a specific nerve pair
- differ slightly between people
10
Q
what is the motor cortex?
A
- the part of the brain that decides which muscles to activate
- where commands come from when you want to move yourself
11
Q
what is the somatosensory cortex?
A
- next to the motor cortex
- where feelings from the body parts arrive for processing
12
Q
what is the ‘motor homunculus’?
A
- the parts of the body controlled by the motor cortex
- the larger the area, the greater and finer the control
- hand and mouth are predominant
13
Q
what is a motor unit?
A
- all the muscle fibres activated by one motor nerve
- for fine control, would have ~10 fibres
- for powerful muscles, would have ~1000 fibres
14
Q
what is an EMG?
A
- electromyography
- measures the signal in the motor nerve as an action potential is fired
- can be measured with a surface EMG or fine wire EMG (inserted via needle)
15
Q
why would we use surface EMG?
A
- to measure the muscle tone (sound of muscles)
- measure many muscles simultaneously to record the sequencing of muscle activation
