Theme 2: Sensory Inputs and Motor Outputs Flashcards
What areas of the CNS correspond to each level of the motor control of hierarchy?
High/Strategy- neocortex and basal ganglia. Middle/Tactics- Motor cortex and cerebellum. Low/Execution- Brainstem and spinal cord.
What are the 2 lateral descending pathways?
Rubrospinal and corticospinal pathways, voluntary movements.
What are the 3 ventromedial descending pathways? What do they collectively do?
Reticulospinal, Tectospinal, Vestibulospinal pathways. They use sensory information about balance, body position, and the visual environment to reflexively maintain balance and posture. Involuntary movements.
What is another name for the corticospinal tract and what does it do?
Pyramidal tract, only tract to synapse directly with motor neurons, derived from layer V. Motor cortex to Internal capsule to cerebral peduncle to medullary pyramids, 90% decesates, to anterior/lateral cs tract.
Describe the path of the rubrospinal tract and its function.
Red nucleus (ruber) to spine. Unclear involvement in humans, innervates flexor muscles in upper limbs.
Describe the vestibulospinal tract
Vestibular nuclei of medulla (relays sensory info from vestibular labyrinth in inner ear). Projects down spinal cord activates spinal circuits controlling neck and back for stability while body moves. Extends down to lumbar promoting stability.
Describe the tectospinal tract
From tectum (superiour and inferior colluculi) receives info from eyes/ear, down to spine. Head and neck control.
Describe the reticulospinal tract.
From reticular formation to spine. activates extensor muscles in arms/legs
What is seen in patients with damage to motor cortex and corticospinal tract?
Increased spasticity, brisk reflexes, extensor plantar/babinski reflex, clonus, some preserved upper limb flexion and lower limb extension. Good posture maintained.
Describe the corticobulbar pathway
Primary motor cortex to cranial nerves.
How is the motor humunculus useful in clinical assesment?
It helps localise injury to the brain
What does the premotor area do?
Fine Motor Control of Visually Guided Movements
What are the subtypes of apraxia?
Parietal: unable to report the sequence. Ideomotor: Unble to use a tool.
What is apraxia?
Inability to perform fine motor tasks caused by damage to the posterior parietal area.
What is the condition in which we see sustained muscle contractions usually producing twisting and repetitive motions or abnormal postures and positions?
Dystonia (task-specific if only with certain actions)
What is seen in damage of the anterior cingulate gyrus?
Smiling
What are 4 roles of the cerebellum?
Maintenance of balance and posture, coordinate voluntary movements (the great comparator– middle/tactics motor control hierarchy), motor learning, cognitive functions
Describe the anatomy of the cerebellum.
3 Lobes: Anterior, Posterior, Flocculonodular. Communicate with brainstem via 3 (superior, middle, inferior) cerebellar peduncles. Divided into two hemispheres with a vermis in the middle
What are the 3 main inputs to the cerebellum?
Vestibulocerebellum to flocculonnodular lobe, Spinocerebellum to vermis, Cerebrocerebellum (corticocerebellum) to hemispheres
What are the 4 cerebellar outputs and what areas do they communicate from?
Vermis to fastigial, paravermis to interposed, hemisphere to dentate, flocculonodular to vestibular nuclei
Describe the spinocerebellar loop and its function.
Control of muscle tone/posture. Spinocerebellar tracts to vermis to fastigial nuclei to descending tracts (also interact with reticular formation)
Describe the corticocerebellar loop.
corticopontine tract to pons to hemisphers to dentate nuclei to thalamus back to cortex.
Describe the vestibulocerebellar loop and its function.
Vestibular nerve to flocculonodular lobe to vestibular nuclei then either extraocular muscle nuclei to control eye movements or vestibulospinal tract to control neck movements
Which inputs/outputs go through each cerebellar peduncle?
All outputs- superior. corticopontine- middle. spinocerebellar and vestibulocerebellar- inferior.
Name 5 conditions caused by a lesion to the cerebrocerebellar pathway.
Dysmetria - movement is not stopped in time.
Dysynergia- decomposition of complex movements.
Dysdiadochokinesia- reduced ability to perform rapidly alternating movements
Intentional Tremor- Tremor when trying to perform a goal oriented movement
Dysarthria- difficulty coordinating muscles of respiration, larynx, etc/unevem speech strength and velocity.
Name a conditions arising from a lesion to the vestibulocerebellar pathway.
Nystagmus- involuntary, rhythmical, repeated oscillations of one or both eyes, in any or all directions of view. Movement of the eyes reduces the ability to focus on one point.
Describe symptoms arising from a lesion to the spinocerebellar pathway.
Gait Ataxia (unsteadiness of walking) and disturbance of limb tone (hypotonia) and posture
What are the 2 kinds of fibres that feed into the cerebellum and where do they come from?
Mossy fibres from spinal cord and brainstem (many fibres converge on one purkinje cell) and climbing fibres from inferior olivary nucleus (one climbing fibre diverges on many purkinje cells).
What is a feedforward loop and when is it used?
When you don’t have time to try something and receive feedback (mossy fibres with simple spikes), you use information from the last time you tried that thing (climbing fibres with complex spikes).
What are some genetic causes of cerebellar dysfunction?
Frederich’s Ataxia, spinocerebellar degeneration, ataxia-telengiectasia, von hippel lindau
What are acquired causes of cerbellar dysfunction?
alcohol, anti-convulsants (sodium valproate, phenytoin), metabolic (b12/thyroid/coeliac), degenerative (familia, MSA), immune (paraneoplastic), vascular (basilar artery problems)
Where do the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems arise from?
Symp: T1 to L2, Para: Brainstem and S2 to S4
What is a disynaptic pathway?
At least 2 neurons. Myelinated pre-ganglionic from cranial nerve and unmyelinated postganglionic to effector organ
What is the main neurotransmitter within autonomic ganglia?
Acetylcholine