Neuro 2 - motor control, movement disorders and stroke Flashcards
Cranial nerves
Most have both sensory and motor function
All, except I and II, have nuclei in brainstem
In brainstem, arranged in 3 motor and 3 sensory columns
Functionally specific, can have more than one function
Special somatic afferent (SSA) cranial nerves
Vision - optic
Auditory and vestibular - vestibulocochlear
Named cranial nerves
Olfactory Optic Occulomotor Trochlear Trigeminal Abducens Facial Vestibulocochlear Glossophrayngeal Vagus Accessory Hypoglossal
Special visceral afferent (SVA) cranial nerves
Taste - vagus, glossopharyngeal, facial
Olfaction - olfactory
General somatic afferent (GSA) cranial nerves
Skin, muscles, joints - vagus, glossopharyngeal, facial, trigeminal
General visceral afferent (GVA) cranial nerves
Viscera of head, thorax, abdomen - vagus, glossopharyngeal
General somatic efferent (GSE) cranial nerves
Tongue - hypoglossal
Eye muscles - abducens, trochlear, occulomotor
Special visceral efferent (SVE) cranial nerves
= Branchial motor (BM), skeletal muscle dervied from branchial arches
Mastication - trigeminal
Facial expression, middle ear - facial
Pharynx, larynx - glossopharyngeal, vagus
Sternocleidomastoid, trapezius - accessory
General visceral efferent (GVE) cranial nerves
Parasympathetic neurones for cranial, thoracic and abdominal viscera
Lacrimal and salivary glands (not parotid) - facial
Pupil constrictor, ciliary muscle - occulomotor
Parotid gland - glossopharyngeal
Heart, lungs, digestive tract - vagus
Optic nerve (II)
Associated only with special senses
- axons from ganglion cells in retina
- vision
If damage optic nerve, earlier, complete blindness in that eye
If damage optic tract (after chiasm), field vision loss - lose medial field in eye opposite, lose lateral field on this side
Vestibulocochlear nerve (VIII)
Associated only with special senses
- axons from spiral ganglion of cochlear and vestibular ganglion in inner ear
- hearing and position sense
Loss of vestibular inputs - ataxia, loss of balance, nystagmus
Loss of auditory inputs - loss of hearing on side of affected
Olfactory nerve (I)
Only special visceral afferent
- axons from olfactory mucosa
- olfaction
Damage -> anosmia
Occulomotor nerve (III)
Only motor function (GSE)
- somatomotor to all eye muscles except LR6SO4
- visceromotor, parasympathetic to smooth muscles in eye (ciliary and iris)
Damage -> inability to move eye in or up (down and out gaze), lateral strabismus of one eye (crossed eyes), ptosis
Trochlear nerve (IV)
Only motor function
GSE- somatomotor to superior oblique eye muscle
GVE - visceromotor to pupillary constrictor
Damage -> vertical diplopia (double vision), head tilt, hypertropia (maladjustment) of right eye when performing left gaze
Abducens nerve (VI)
Only motor function (GSE)
- somatomotor to lateral rectus eye muscle
Damage -> can’t look laterally, medial strabismus (crossed eyes)
Hypoglossal nerve (XII)
Only motor function (GSE)
- somatomotor to muscles of tongue, extrinsic (except palatoglossus) and intrinsic
Damage -> tongue deviates to side of lesion
Trigeminal nerve (V)
Sensory and motor pathways
SENSORY
Opthalmic - V1 - orbit to forehead
Maxillary - V2 - upper jaw to orbit
Mandibular - V3 - lower jaw
MOTOR
V3 only - muscles of mastication
Upper motor neurone lesion -> no deficit in jaw movement
Lower motor neurone lesion -> deviation of mandible to ipsilateral (weak) side
Facial nerve (VII)
Sensory and motor pathways
MOTOR (SVE)
- muscles of facial expression
- stapedius muscle (dampen sound in ear)
- part of digastric
VISCERAL SENSORY (SVA) - taste from anterior 2/3 tongue
GENERAL SOMATIC SENSORY FUNCTION (GSA)
- small region near external auditory meatus
PARASYMPATHETIC (GVE)
- secretory glands in head - lacrimation, nasal secretions, salivary glands
(Two Zebras Bit My Clavicle - temporal, zygomatic, buccal, mandibular, cervical)
Upper motor lesion -> bottom half of face (contralateral) can’t move, forehead sparing
Lower motor lesion -> whole half face (contralateral)
Vagus nerve (X)
Sensory and motor pathways
SENSORY
- viscerosensory from organs in thorax and abdomen
MOTOR
- innervation of some in pharynx and larynx
- parasympathetic to organs in thorax and abdomen
Accessory nerve (XI)
Sensory and motor pathways
Two motor components - cranial root to muscles in larynx and pharynx, spinal root to muscles in neck
Sensory info very small, about pain
Motor neurones in spinal cord
Spinal cord enlarged at levels where motor neurones for limbs are located - not uniform
Sensory input to dorsal horn, synapse through ventral horn -> motor
Position in ventral horn depends on type and location of muscle innervated - medial for trunk, lateral for limbs and distal muscles
Alpha motor neurone inputs
- lower motor neurone (as with gamma)
FROM:
- sensory input from muscles
- input from upper motor neurones to initiate and control voluntary movement
- interneurones (excitatory or inhibitory) to form circuits that produce coordinated movements
Types of somatic motor neurone
ALPHA
- large, multipolar neurones
- cell bodies in ventral horn of spinal cord, originate here
- terminate at NMJ or end plates
- innervate extrafusal muscle fibres, skeletal muscle
GAMMA
- smaller neurones
- cell bodies in ventral horn of spinal cord, originate here
- innervate specialised striated muscle fibres (intrafusal)
Motor unit
= alpha motor neurone + all innervated muscle fibres
One alpha motor neurone to several muscle fibres, each muscle fibre only one neurone
All alpha motor neurones innervating a muscle = motor neurone pool
Muscle spindles
Sensory neurones in muscle spindle encode info on muscle length - moitor extent of stretch and rate of change of length
Intrafusal fibres in parallel
Ia and II afferents
Lower motor neurones innervated by two different mechanisms
SUPRASPINAL MOTOR CIRCUITS
- volitional control over movement
SPINAL CORD REFLEX
- rapid, automatic, stereotyped response
- couples sensory input to motor output
Types of reflex
Monosynaptic - simplest, controls muscle length
Golgi tendon - controls muscle tension
Flexor/withdrawal reflex - rapidly remove limb from painful stimulus
Crossed extensor reflex - maintains body equilibrium
Monosynaptic reflex
Sensory receptor, sensory neurone, integrating centre (one synapse in ventral horn), motoneurone, effector muscle or gland
Still need antagonistic muscle pair to relax in response, otherwise muscles would snap - RECIPROCAL INNERVATION
Myotatic reflex
= stretch reflex, type of monosynaptic
Weight added to muscle Transient elongation of muscle Spindle stretched, neurones fire Alpha motor neurones fire Muscle contraction
To maintain tone, prevent muscular damage due to overlengthening
eg patellar tendon reflex
- if weak or absent, lower motor neurone lesion?
- if exaggerated, upper motor neurone lesion?
Gamma motor neurones
= fusimotor neurones
To adjust sensitivity of muscle spindles
When muscle contracts, spindle becomes slack, so no sensory info from spindle
Gamma motor neurone activation contracts muscle spindle fibres, so can now respond to eg changes in load weight
Golgi tendon
Skeletal muscle tendons contain mechanoreceptors
- golgi tendon organs
Ib sensory neurones in golgi tendon organ encodes info on muscle tension
Inhibit alpha neurones running to muscle of origin
Golgi tendon reflex
Muscle tension
Golgi tendon organ activated
Sensory Ib afferemt excoted
Spinal cord activates inhibitory interneurone to same muscle, and activates excitatory interneurone to antagonistic muscle
Motoneurone excited
Effector muscle relaxes, antagonistic muscle contracts
- protect muscle from producing too much tension and tearing or breaking tendons
- fine control of tension for grasping fragile objects
Felxor/withdrawal reflex
Nociceptor afferents excited
Spinal cord interneurones activate, excite flexor motoneurones
- rapidly withdraw body from painful stimulus
- needs synergy, muscles to work together to remove entire limb
Crossed extensor reflex
To maintain balance, eg after withdrawal reflex
- eg strengthen leg standing on, inhibit extensors in leg withdrawing
Central pattern generator
Neurones enable oscillations in movement - as one set neurones fire, others stop
To generate rhythmic motor activity
Convergence
Termination of several neurones onto one other neurone
- two nerves activated, subliminal fringes overlap = facilitation zone
- more motor neurones excited so bigger response, FACILITATION
(Repetitive stimulation of one nerve -> temporal summation)
Types of interneuron
INHIBITORY INTERNEURONE
- activated by primary afferent
- inhibit alpha motor neurone
- inhibit contraction of associated muscle
EXCITATORY INTERNEURONE
- activate gamma or alpha motor neurone
- synapse onto intrafusal muscle fibre to increase sensitivity of spindle
RENSHAW CELLS
- inhibitory interneurones
- activated by alpha motor neurones
- inhibits alpha motor neurones, negative feedback
- also inhibit interneurones and gamma motor neurone
- governors, prevent muscle damage from tetanus
Jendrassick manouvre - to condition reflex
Exaggerates lower limb tendon reflexes
- voluntary upper motor neurone innervation of arm overflows, to increase excitability of lower motor neurone pool in lower limbs
- > increased fusimotor drive
- > increased amplitude of reflex
- counteracts some normal descending inhibition from brain
- modulates interneuron excitability, so removes inhibitory action on late component of stretch reflex
Primary motor cortex - homunculus
Region where movement can be evoked with least amount of electrical stimulus
Pre-central gyrus, Brodmann’s area 4
(not 100% true, there are clusters, needed for coordination)
Supplementary motor area
= SMA
Medial surface of hemisphere, anterior to primary motor cortex
Medial part of Brodmann’s area 6
SMA PROPER - contains somatotopic map - contributes to corticospinal tract - interconnected to other motor areas PRE-SMA - not well connected to other motor areas - connected to pre-frontal cortex
- for more complex, purposeful movements, eg vocalisation and complex postural movements
(transforms kinematic to dynamic info)
Pre-motor area
Rostral to primary motor cortex
Two functionally distinct subdivisions - dorsal and ventral
- somatotopically organised
- preparation for movement
Cingulate motor area
In cingulate sulcus
- somatotopically organised
- preparation and execution of movements
Descending control of motor pathways
To innervate alpha, gamma motoneurones, and interneurones
Motor neurones topographically organised in ventral horn - flexors more posterior than extensors
- distal more lateral than proximal
Two major groups:
- Lateral pathways
- Medial pathways
Lateral pathways in descending control of motor
Controls both proximal and distal muscles
Responsible for most voluntary movements of arms and legs
- Lateral corticospinal tract
- Rubrospinal tract
Medial pathways in descending control of motor
Controls axial muscles (core)
Responsible for posture, balance, coarse control of axial and proximal muscles
- Vestibulospinal tracts (lateral and medial)
- Reticulospinal tracts (pontine and medullary)
- Tectospinal tract
- Anterior corticospinal tract
Lateral corticospinal tract
Main descending motor pathway
Motor cortex to spinal cord
- fibres form bulge on ventral surface of medulla, = pyramids
- fibres decussate at medulla-spinal cord junction - is the 90%
Innervate motor neurones in ventral horn of spinal cord
Controls muscles of distal limbs
Essential for fine movement of limbs
VOLUNTARY
Anterior corticospinal tract
Smaller than lateral pathway
Motor cortex to spinal cord
- is 10% of CST that doesn’t decussate in medulla, instead at spinal cord. Some still don’t decussate so are ipsilateral (minor) -> bilateral innervation for coordination
Controls muscles of trunk
Corticonuclear = corticobulbar tract
Motor cortex to brainstem nuclei
Voluntary motor functions of head, neck, face
CRANIAL NERVES
- most nuclei bilateral innervation from cortex except facial and hypoglossal
Rubrospinal tract
Small, role unimportant in humans Originates in red nucleus Decussates immediately (travels alongside lateral CST) Voluntary movements of upper limbs only
Vestibulospinal tract
Head orientation info received by vestibulocochlear nerve
So tract from vestibular nuclei -> motor control of neck, trunk and some leg muscles
Maintain upright posture and head stabilisation
Bilateral innervation of muscles
Tectospinal tract
Originates in superior colliculus in midbrain
Info from eyes and visual cortex
Innervate contralateral motor neurones controlling head position
Reticulospinal tract
Originates in reticulospinal formation in pons and medulla
Modulates voluntary movements, locomotion and posture, influences muscle tone
Ipsilateral innervation of motor neurones in spinal cord
Damage to descending motor pathways
- > immediate flaccidity of muscles on contralateral side, lose all reflex activity on that side
- most severe in arms and legs, trunk control usually preserved - as remaining brainstem pathways, bilateral projection of corticospinal pathway
- initially period of HYPOTONIA (= spinal shock)
Corticospinal tract impairment (lateral system)
Weakness of distal muscles (fingers)
Babinski sign (stroke sole of feet, instead of toes flexing they extend. normal in infants)
No spasticity, muscle tone may be decreased
Medial system interruption
Initial reduction in tone of postural muscles
Loss of righting reflex
Locomotor impairment, frequent falling
Lower motor neurone injury
Damage to alpha motor neurones innervating skeletal muscle
Effects limited to motor unit, so specific deficit
- muscle atrophy and weakness
- fasciculations, spontaneous action potentials
- fibrillation, twitching of individual muscle fibres
- decreased muscle tone (hypotonia) and reflexes (hyporeflexia)
Upper motor neurone injury
-> change in way system works, so planning affected as well as execution
Common, as large amount of cortex occupied by motor areas
If identify specific body regions affected, identify site of injury, as topographical arrangement
- increased muscle tone (spasticity), hyperactive stretch reflexes
- weakness, in distal muscles first
- pathological reflexes, eg Babinski sign
- reduced superficial reflexes
Lesion dividing spinal cord from CNS
Flaccid paralysis, loss of both voluntary and muscle tone
Lesion dividing upper and lower brainstem
Decerebrate posture:
Arms adducted and extended, wrists pronated, legs fully extended with plantar flexion of feet
Lesion dividing cerebrum from upper brainstem
Decorticate posture:
Arms abducted and flexed, wrists and fingers flexed on chest, legs stiffly extended and internally rotated, plantar flexion of feet
Cerebellum - inc deep nuclei
Hindbrain
Neuronal machine
White matter mainly, thin outer layer of densely folded grey matter
Most regular anatomy in brain:
4 deep (intracerebellar) nuclei on each side
- Dentate - don’t
- Emboliform - eat
- Globose - greasy
- Fastigal - food
Info from cerebellar cortex to deep nuclei, then exits cerebellum
Spinal cord inputs into cerebellum
Detailed, external proprioceptive information:
- dorsal spino-cerebellar tract - inferior peduncle - lower limb
- cuneo-cerebellar tract - inferior peduncle - upper limb
Integrated, internal proprioceptive information:
- ventral spino-cerebellar tract - superior peduncle - lower limb
- rostral spino-cerebellar tract - inferior peduncle - upper limb
-> unconscious proprioception, mainly pass ipsilateral to anterior lobe and vermis, straight to cerebellum not higher centres
Non-spinal cord inputs to cerebellum
Cerebral cortex -> cerebellar cortex
Vestibular nuclei (ipsilateral) -> floculonodular node
Reticular formation (ipsilateral) -> cerebellar cortex
Inferior olivary nucleus (contralateral) -> cerebellar cortex
- all sources of cerebellar input and all targets of its output go to inferior olivary nucleus
Purkinje cells
Large neurones in cortex of cerebellum
- triangular cell body
- numerous branching dendrites
- single long axon
Release GABA to regulate and coordinate motor movements
Cerebellar cortex layer
Outer synaptic layer - molecular layer
Immediate discharge layer - purkinje layer
Inner receptive layer - granular layer
Cerebellar inputs
Two types of input:
CLIMBING FIBRES - wrap around dendritic tree of purkinje cells
- from inferior olivary nucleus
- end on purkinje cells
- non-movement related
- somatosensory, visual, and cerebral cortical info
MOSSY FIBRES
- from all other afferents - nuclei in spinal cord and brainstem
- end on granule cells
- movement-related behaviour
- sensory info from periphery, info from cortex