Unit 2 Flashcards
Control of Movement/Proprioception, Autonomic Nervous System, Endocrinology, Cardiovascular Physiology
higher centers of motor control
- forms complex plans according to individual’s intention and communicates with the middle level via command neurons
- includes areas involved with memory, emotions, and motivation, and the sensorimotor cortex
supplementary motor cortex
- postural stabilization, coordinating of both sides of the body
- control of movements that are internally generated rather than triggered by sensory events
- control of sequences of movements
primary motor cortex
voluntary movement
promotor area
planning movement, spatial and sensory guidance of movement
parietal-lobe association cortex
integrating somatosensory and visual input, important for complex movements
middle level of motor control
- converts plans received from higher centers into smaller motor programs that determine the pattern of neural activation required to perform the movement
- programs are broken down into subprograms that determine the movements of individual joints
- programs and subprograms are transmitted through descending pathways to the local control level
- includes sensorimotor cortex, cerebellum, parts of basal nuclei, some brainstem nuclei
local level of motor control
- specifies tension of particular muscles and angle of specific joints at specific times necessary to carry out programs and subprograms from middle control levels
- includes brainstem or spinal cord interneurons, afferent neurons, and motor neurons
motor homunculus
neurons of the motor cortex that control muscle groups in various parts of the body are arranged anatomically into a somatotopic map similar to sensory homunculus in somatosensory cortex
corticospinal pathway
- controls movements of the limbs and trunk
- cell bodies in sensorimotor cortex and terminate in spinal cord
- fibers crossover in medulla oblongata near the junction of the spinal cord and brainstem, and descend on the opposite side
- skeletal muscles on the left side of the body are controlled largely by neurons in the right half of the brain
brainstem pathways
- controls involuntary and automatic control of all musculature (tone, balance, posture, and locomotion)
- cell bodies in the brainstem
- most axons do not cross, affect muscles on the same side of the body
voluntary movements
- conscious awareness of what we are doing and why we are doing it
- attention focused on the action or its purpose
involuntary movements
unconscious, automatic, or reflex
proprioception
- the “sixth sense” that lets us perceive the location, movement, and action of parts of the body
- encompasses a complex of sensations, including perception of joint position and movement, muscle force, and effort
muscle sensory organs
- muscle spindles: sense muscle length, in parallel with extrafusal fibers
- golgi tendon organs: sense muscle tension, in series with extrafusal fibers
extrafusal fibers
ordinary muscle fibers that cause contraction
intrafusal fibers
- in parallel with the extrafusal fibers
- innervated with gamma-motor neurons and are co-activated with alpha motor neurons to maintain tension on spindle
afferent nerve
sensory nerve
alpha- and gamma-motor neuron co-activation
- passive stretch of extrafusal and intrafusal muscle fibers due to external load
- contraction of extrafusal fibers due to action potentials along alpha motor neurons removes stretch on intrafusal fibers, slowing stretch receptor firing
- activating both alpha and gamma motor neurons maintains stretch on intrafusal fibers during shortening contraction, which provides sensory information about muscle length
joint receptors
- respond to mechanical pressure
- ruffini’s corpuscles: in tendon material, sensitive to stretch
- golgi tendon organs: in ligaments, sensitive to tension
- pacinian corpuscles: in skin, tendons, and tendon material, respond to high frequency vibrations
- free nerve endings: throughout joint connective tissue, respond to mechanical pressure and pain
stretch reflex
- stretched muscle activated and antagonist muscle inhibited
- stretching the extensor causes: contraction of the extensor muscle originally stretched, relaxation of flexor muscles, contraction of other extensor muscles, and muscle length information to travel to the brain
- knee-jerk reflec
- remaining upright posture when the body tilts forward
crossed extensor reflex
- inhibitor ipsilateral extensor muscles and excite ipsilateral (same side) flexor muscles
- excite contralateral extensor muscles and inhibit contralateral flexor muscles
maintaining an upright posture
- center of gravity must remain within base of support
- postural reflexes: input from vestibular system, visual system, and proprioceptive receptors
somatic (voluntary) nervous system
- division of the peripheral nervous system that provides voluntary control of skeletal muscles
- only activation
autonomic nervous system
- division of the peripheral nervous systems that innervates the heart, smooth muscle, and glands
- influences the function of internal organs
- can be excitatory or inhibitory
- two branches: sympathetic and parasympathetic