Motor Circuits Flashcards
Muscles come in pairs: when one contracts, the other ____.
Stretches
Muscle contraction is (active/passive), whereas muscle stretching is (active/passive). What does “passive” mean in this context?
Active
Passive (cannot be directly activated by neurons)
The lower motor neurons are directly involved in receiving information from the ____ ____ and sending information to ____.
Spinal cord
Muscles
The upper motor neurons send information from the ___ ___ and the ___ down to ____ motor circuits.
Motor cortex
Brainstem
Lower
Upper motor neurons can directly synapse on ___ ___ neurons, but usually synapse on ___ ___ neurons.
Lower motor
Local circuit
Where are the local circuit neurons located?
Spinal cord
Local circuit neurons synapse on ____ ____ neurons.
Lower motor
What are 3 types of sensory information that can be passed to the local circuit neurons? Which one comes directly from the muscles?
Proprioceptive (comes directly from muscles)
Pain
Touch
The upper motor neurons are also called the ____ systems.
Descending
The ___ ___ and the ____ send information that combines with the descending systems to regulate movement.
Basal ganglia
Cerebellum
Each muscle has (one/multiple) neuron(s) that control(s) it.
Multiple
Each muscle is made up of multiple ____ ____. Bigger muscles require (more/less/the same) number of these as smaller muscles.
Muscle fibers
More
Each motor neuron controls a different set of ___ ____.
Muscle fibers
What is a motor neuron pool?
All of the neurons that innervate a particular muscle
(Bigger/smaller) muscles and muscles with (low/high) dexterity have more motor neurons.
Bigger
High
Motor neurons have their cell bodies in the ___ ___ of the ___ ____.
Ventral horn
Spinal cord
Motor neurons synapse in the (ipsilateral/contralateral) spinal cord.
Ipsilateral
Muscles’ motor neurons have their cell bodies in (one/multiple) segments in the spinal cord. What type of muscles don’t have their motor neurons’ cell bodies in the spinal cord at all?
Multiple
Eye
The cell bodies of the proximal limb muscles (closer to the body) are located (medially/laterally) in the ventral horn to the cell bodies of the distal limb muscles (further away from the body).
Medially
What is a motor unit?
All of the muscle fibers innervated by the same motor neuron
Each motor neuron innervates (1/ 1 or more) muscle fibers.
1 or more
In general, the larger the motor unit, the (smaller/larger) the motor neuron, the (less/more) muscles contract, and the (lesser/greater) the force generated.
Larger
More
Greater
In muscle physiology, what is considered to be the smallest unit of force?
Motor unit
The greater the motor unit, the (lesser/greater) the force generated.
Greater
By definition, a small motor unit MUST:
A) Be in a small muscle
B) Innervate relatively few muscle fibers
C) Generate a relatively small amount of force
D) Have a small motor neuron
E) All of the above
B) Innervate relatively few muscle fibers
The other answers aren’t part of the definition for a motor unit
What are the 3 types of motor units?
Slow
Fast fatigable
Fast fatigue resistant
Slow motor units:
1) Many or few muscle fibers per motor neuron?
2) Muscle fibers contain many or few mitochondria and blood vessels?
3) Fast or slow to fatigue?
4) What type of muscle movements? Example?
5) High or low threshold of activation?
1) Few
2) Many
3) Slow
4) Sustained, low force muscle movements (example- upright posture)
5) Low threshold
Most of the muscles of the lower back fall into which category of motor unit? Why?
Slow
They are used for standing and sitting
Which of the 3 categories of motor units has tonic activity?
Slow
Fast fatigable motor units:
1) Many or few muscle fibers per motor neuron?
2) Muscle fibers contain many or few mitochondria and blood vessels?
3) Fast or slow to fatigue?
4) What type of muscle movements? Example?
5) High or low threshold of activation?
1) Many
2) Few
3) Fast
4) Brief, high force contraction (example- sprinting)
5) High threshold
Fast fatigue resistant motor units:
1) (Low/intermediate/high) level of energy generation and number of muscle fibers per motor neuron?
2) High or low threshold?
1) Intermediate
2) High
One muscle can have (one type/ all 3 types) of motor unit(s). If all 3, what would differ between them?
All 3
Different percentages of each
What determines the order in which the 3 types of motor circuits are recruited? In which order do they activate?
Threshold
Slow -> fast fatigue resistant -> fast fatigable
Tension when referring to muscles is synonymous with what term?
Contraction
In general, the amount of force a muscle can use is proportional to its level of ____.
Tension/ contraction
How do slow motor units differ from fast fatigue resistant and fast fatigable motor units in terms of force generated and amount of time that maximum contraction can be maintained?
Slow motor units: not much force generated, can sustain maximum contraction for a long period of time
Fast fatigue resistant and fast fatigable: more force generated, but maximum contraction cannot be sustained for a long period of time
Muscle tension/contraction is determined by the ___ ___ frequency of the ____ ___ ___.
Action potential frequency
Alpha motor neuron
The alpha motor neuron controls what?
Motor unit
At a low frequency of action potential firing by an alpha motor neuron, the muscle shows what kind of response? What effect does this yield?
Twitching
Yields basic muscle tone
What happens to the level of force a muscle shows after several alpha motor neuron action potentials? Is this due to the level of contraction changing? If not, what is it due to?
Force increases
Not due to level of contraction changing
Muscle does not relax in between contractions
Does a single action potential from the alpha motor neuron cause a muscle to contract to its maximum? If not, how is maximum contraction force generated?
No- maximum force comes from high rate of action potential firing
When a maximum healthy rate of action potential firing from the alpha motor neuron occurs, what does the graph of time vs force look like?
Slight relaxations between action potentials without return to baseline
In smooth fused tetanus, does the muscle relax between alpha motor neuron action potential firings? Is this considered to be a healthy condition? If not, what conditions is this related to?
No
No
Charley horse, trigger finger
Larger motor units are usually associated with (smaller/larger) motor neurons.
Larger
Larger motor neurons have (less/more) axonal branches.
More
Is motor unit size directly or inversely proportional to dexterity? Would a larger motor unit yield high or low levels of dexterity?
Inversely proportional
Low
In general, the higher the dexterity of a muscle, the (smaller/larger) the motor units and the (smaller/larger) the motor neurons for each motor unit.
Smaller (both)
Compared to a small motor unit, a large motor unit will likely:
A) Be innervated by more neurons
B) Have a larger motor neuron
C) Have more mitochondria per muscle fiber
D) All of the above
B) Have a larger motor neuron
Stimulating muscle at low frequency for long period of time:
1) What type of motor units predominated before stimulation? After stimulation?
2) The alpha motor neurons shifted to become more like those that normally control what type of motor units?
3) What principle did this experiment demonstrate?
1) Before stimulation: fast fatigable
After stimulation: slow
2) Slow motor units
3) Motor unit plasticity
Athletic training can:
A) Change the firing properties of the motor neuron
B) Change the properties of the muscle fiber
C) Change the size of the muscle
D) All of the above
D) All of the above
Training ankle muscle by repeatedly flexing ankle:
1) How did training change the amount of force generated and the amount of time needed to reach maximum force?
2) How did training change the response time and strength of neuronal activity in the muscle?
3) How did training change the action potential firing rate and amplitude of the alpha motor neurons?
4) What principle did this experiment demonstrate?
1) Increased amount of force generated
Decreased amount of time needed to reach maximum force
2) Decreased response time
Increased strength of neuronal activity in muscle
3) Increased action potential firing rate
Increased amplitude
4) Motor unit plasticity
Even the simplest reflex needs to integrate information from ____ and ____ neurons.
Motor
Proprioceptive
Motor neurons: neurons that activate contraction of ___ ___ or ____ ____.
Motor units
Muscle spindles
What are the two types of motor neurons? Which synapses where? Which has a neuromuscular junction?
Gamma motor neurons- synapse in spindle fibers
Alpha motor neurons- synapse on muscle fibers, have neuromuscular junctions
Proprioceptive neurons innervate and sense change in the ___ ___ and the ___ ____ ____.
Muscle spindle
Golgi tendon organ
What 2 proprioceptive sensory neurons innervate the muscle spindle? Which sensory neuron innvervates the Golgi tendon organ? Which has the bigger and faster neuron(s)?
Muscle spindle: Ia and II (biggest and fastest neurons)
Golgi tendon organ: Ib
The proprioceptive sensory neurons Ia, II, and Ib have their cell bodies in the ___ ____ ____.
Dorsal root ganglia
Proprioceptive input ascends through and has its synapses in the (contralateral/ipsilateral) (dorsal/ventral) horn.
Ipsilateral
Ventral horn
Every muscle has how many spindle(s)? Are spindles located on the inside or outside of muscles? Muscle spindles are innervated by which type of motor neuron and which type of proprioceptive sensory neurons? The effect of the motor neuron on the muscle spindle is (contraction/relaxation).
1 Inside Gamma motor neuron Ia and II Contraction
The Golgi tendon organ is located at the junction between the ___ and the ___. What type of sensory neuron innervates it?
Muscle
Tendon
Ib
The proprioceptive sensory neurons Ia, Ib, and II release what type of neurotransmitter?
Glutamate
The Ib sensory neuron with its cell body in the ___ ___ ___ takes information from the ___ ___ ___ to the (ipsilateral/contralateral) ___ ___ and synapses on an ___ ___ that synapses onto the ____ ____ ___, causing muscle (relaxation/contraction).
Dorsal root ganglia Golgi tendon organ Ipsilateral Ventral horn Inhibitory interneuron Alpha motor neuron Relaxation
The Ia sensory neuron with its cell body in the ___ ___ ___ takes information from the ___ ___ to the (ipsilateral/contralateral) ____ ___ and synapses on the ___ ___ ____, causing muscle (relaxation/contraction).
Dorsal root ganglia Muscle spindle Ipsilateral Ventral horn Alpha motor neuron Contraction
Both the gamma and alpha motor neurons have their cell bodies in the (ipsilateral/contralateral) ___ ___.
Ipsilateral
Ventral horn
The gamma motor neuron with its cell body in the ____ ____ is activated by a(n) (ascending/descending) fiber and carries its information to the ___ ___, causing it to (relax/contract).
Ventral horn
Descending
Muscle spindle
Contract
In general, (ascending/descending) controls require fine regulation. Thus, what type of motor neurons give fine motor control?
Descending
Gamma motor neurons
The alpha motor neuron receives input directly from the: A) Ia sensory afferent B) Ib sensory afferent C) Spindle fibers D) Skeletal muscle E) More than 1 of the above
A) Ia sensory afferent