Motor Learning and Neurological Syndromes

Question 1

What are the three levels of motor control of hierarchy and what parts of the brain are they associated with?

Answer 1

• High = Basal ganglia and association areas of neocortex
• Medium = Motor cortex and cerebellum
• Low = Brainstem and spinal cord

Question 2

What is the corticospinal tract?

Answer 2

White matter motor pathway that starts at the cerebral cortex and terminates on lower motor neurons and interneurons in the spinal cord.

It allows for the voluntary control of the body and limbs.

Question 3

What does the rubrospinal tract innervate?

Answer 3

Flexor muscles in the upper limb

Question 4

Where does the vestubulospinal tract originate?

Answer 4

Vestibular nuclei of the medulla (which relays sensory information from the vestibular labyrinth)

Question 5

What are the two vestibulospinal pathways?

Answer 5

Medial and Lateral

Question 6

What is the medial vestibulospinal pathway?

Answer 6

Projects down the spinal cord and activates cervical spinal circuits that control neck and back muscles - guiding head movements.

Also helps to keep the eyes stable as the head moves.

Question 7

What is the lateral vestibulospinal pathway?

Answer 7

Projects ipsilaterally down the spinal cord and it helps us maintain an upright and balanced posture by facilitating the extensor motor neurons of the legs.

Question 8

What two pathways control head and neck movements?

Answer 8

Tectospinal

Medial Vestibulospinal

Question 9

What two pathways activate extensor muscles in the in the arms and legs?

Answer 9

Reticulospinal

Lateral Vestibulospinal

Question 10

Which tract connects the motor cortex to the cranial nerve nuclei?

Answer 10

Corticobulbar tract

Question 11

What are the two pathways in the reticulospinal tract, where do they originate and what to they both facilitate?

Answer 11

Pontine and Medullary and they originate from the brainstem.

Both facilitate limb extension

Question 12

Which artery supplies the medial part of the frontal lobes?

Answer 12

Anterior cerbral artery

Question 13

What are the three descending ventromedial pathways that allow for involuntary motor control?

Answer 13

• Reticulospinal
• Vestibulospinal
• Tectospinal

Question 14

Why are pyramidal tracts named the way they are and what are the two types and where do they terminate?

Answer 14

Because they pass through the medullary pyramids

• Corticospinal tract (spinal cord)
• Corticobulbar tract (brainstem)

Question 15

What can the corticospinal tract be divided into and what do they control?

Answer 15

Anterior corticospinal tract which controls the trunk muscles

Lateral corticospinal tract which allows for voluntary control of the upper limbs and digits

Question 16

Describe the tectospinal tract

Answer 16

Originates from the superior colliculus of the midbrain which receives input from the retina.

Allows us to direct head and eye movements in oder to focus a desired object on the fovea.

Controls muscles of the neck, upper trunk and shoulders.

Question 17

What are the voluntary motor control pathways?

Answer 17

Rubrospinal and Corticospinal

Question 18

What is the motor homunculus?

Answer 18

A disproportionate map which details the different amounts of brain matter used in the motor control of different parts of the body.

Question 19

What is the premotor area important in?

Answer 19

The control of visually guided movements

Question 20

What can pressing on the motor cortex lead to?

Answer 20

Spasticity and paresis of the muscles that area of the brain controls

Question 21

What is dystonia and how is it caused?

Answer 21

Sustained muscle contractions in an irregular posture.

Caused by repetitive movements or abnormal posture/positions

Question 22

What is the function of the basal ganglia?

Answer 22

To create a positive feedback loop with the cortex to allow for the selection of wanted movements and the deselection of unwanted movements

Question 23

What is the function of the cerebellum and what functions is it involved with?

Answer 23

Coordination of voluntary muscle movements

Involved with:

• Speech
• Balance
• Posture