MOTOR SYSTEM

Asma Hayati Ahmad

Department of Physiology
Outline
 The integrated control of movement
 Motor control hierarchy
 Components and functions of the motor system
 Motor cortex
 Basal ganglia
 Cerebellum
 Brainstem
 Spinal cord
 The integrated control of movement
The channelling and processing of information is called the integrative function of
the nervous system.

Voluntary
movements are
integrated in the
cerebral cortex

Postural
reflexes are
integrated in
the brain
stem

Reflex movements are

integrated in the
spinal cord
Motor control hierarchy
 The motor nervous system includes all neural
structures that function to control posture,
voluntary action and reflexes.

 They are situated in various parts of the NS in a

cascade arrangement .
Motor control hierarchy
General intention (higher centres) Cerebral cortex

Specify postures, initiate and fine tune

Basal ganglia
movements needed to carry out the
Cerebellum
intended movement (middle level)

Support movement and regulate Brain stem

posture, balance and muscle tone

Spinal reflexes, channelling of signals Spinal cord

Activate specific motor neurons Motor neurons

Muscles – just contract!
MOTOR CORTEX
 Motor cortex
 Include
 Primary motor cortex
 Supplementary motor cortex
 Premotor cortex
 Posterior parietal cortex
 Broca’s area
 Somatotopy
 the body is represented as a distorted
map on the motor cortex
 body regions with a high degree of
motor flexibility are disproportionately
large (hands and face)
 Multiple representations
 other somatotopically organized motor
cortices: supplementary motor cortex
and premotor cortex
Motor cortex
 To carry out goal-directed
movement, motor cortex must first
receive various kinds of information
from associative areas

 about the body's position in space

 from parietal lobe

 about the goal to be attained and

an appropriate strategy for
attaining it
 from anterior portion of frontal lobe

 about memories of past strategies

 from temporal lobe
Sequence of motor events

Thalamus
 Descending tracts: corticospinal &
corticobulbar
 2-neuron pathway
 Upper motor neuron
 Lower motor neuron
 The anterior CS tract is
responsible for signals
a/w postural adjustment
 The lateral CS tract is
responsible for skilled and
fine motor movements
Descending tracts: corticospinal & corticobulbar

Corticobulbar tracts end in cranial nerve

nuclei in brain stem
Disorders of motor cortex/descending tracts

 ‘Stroke’ syndrome
 haemorrhagic or ischaemic
 Manifestation depends on the affected area
 Internal capsule – hemiplegia (small arteries here prone to
haemorrhage or thrombosis)
 Primary motor cortex – loss of voluntary control of discrete
movements involving distal extremities
 Usually involves more territory than primary motor cortex
 If extends beyond primary cortex and involves neurons that project to caudate
or putamen, characteristic symptoms occur such as hyper-reflexia,
hypertonia,and spasticity.
Plasticity of the motor cortex

 Motor cortex shows similar plasticity as sensory

cortex.
 Increase in cortical areas of corresponding
muscles involved in motor learning
 Ischaemic lesion in hand area of motor cortex –
appearance in adjacent undamaged area of
cortex
 Enhanced white matter connections due to
training
BASAL GANGLIA
Basal Ganglia
A group of deep nuclei embedded deep in the cerebral hemisphere.
Consists of
 Striatum
 Caudate nucleus
 Putamen
 Globus pallidus
 external segment
 internal segment
 Subthalamic nucleus
 Substantia nigra
 pars compacta
 pars reticulata
Basal Ganglia
Basal Ganglia - connections Mid line
Functions of the basal ganglia

 Setting of movement parameters such as the

force, direction, velocity, and amplitude of
movement
 Influence motor cortex via pathways through
thalamus
 Also has affective and cognitive functions
Disorders of basal ganglia
 Lesions of basal ganglia cause movement disorders
classified clinically as positive and negative
symptoms (hyper- and hypoactivity of transmitter
systems)
 The main neurotransmitters involved are dopamine,
GABA, and acetylcholine.
 Dopamine – hypoactivity leads to Parkinson
disease/parkinsonism
 GABA, acetylcholine – Huntington’s chorea,
hereditary degenerative disease of basal ganglia.
CEREBELLUM
Cerebellum
 Connected to brainstem by 3 cerebellar peduncles, which
contain both afferent and efferent nerve fibers.
 Structurally, consists of vermis and 2 cerebellar hemispheres.
Functions of the cerebellum
Functions of cerebellum
 Unlike the cerebrum, the left cerebellum controls the left
side of the body and the right cerebellum controls the right
side
 Responsible for
 Voluntary muscle movements
 Fine motor skills
 Maintaining balance, posture and equilibrium
 Compares the actual movement with movement intended
by the motor system and sends appropriate corrective
signals to the motor system to activate specific muscles
 Aids cerebral cortex to plan the next sequential movement
while the current movement is still being executed (one
movement to another progress smoothly)
 TO MAKE MOVEMENT SMOOTH AND COORDINATED
Disorders of the cerebellum

 Ataxia – lack of coordination due to errors in rate,

range, force, and direction of movement.
 Ataxia may be expressed as dysdiadochokinesia, in
which a person is unable to perform rapid,
alternating movement
 Intention tremors – occur perpendicular to direction
of voluntary movement, increasing near end of
movement
 Rebound phenomena – inability to stop a
movement
BRAIN STEM
Brain stem

 The brain stem motor centers receive input from the

somatosensory system, the vestibular system and the
higher motor centers (cerebellum, basal ganglia, motor
cortex).
 The motor centers of the brain stem control postural
functions and muscle tone by way of descending tracts
named according to their origin and destination.
 These tracts are called the brain stem pathways
 Motor functions of the brain stem
Brain stem pathways
Pathway Tracts Origin Action
Lateral Rubrospinal Red nucleus in Activates flexor,
midbrain inhibits extensor
Medial Pontine (medial) Nuclei of pons Activates extensor
reticulospinal predominantly
Medullary (lateral) Medullary reticular Inhibits both,
reticulospinal formation predominant extensor
Lateral Lateral vestibular Activates extensors
vestibulospinal nucleus (antigravity muscles),
inhibits flexor
Medial Medial vestibular Controls neck
vestibulospinal nuclei muscles

Tectospinal Superior colliculus Controls neck

muscles
 Disorders of the brain stem
Section 1: between superior and
inferior colliculi of midbrain
Interrupts all input from cortex and
red nucleus.
Disinhibition of extensor motor
neurons
Massive increase in muscle tone;
decerebrate rigidity, esp affecting
extensors and neck muscles
Resembles uncal herniation after
supratentorial lesion in humans
Decerebration
Disorders of the brainstem
Section 3: removal of cerebral cortex
(basal ganglia and brain stem intact)
Facilitation of gamma motor neuron
discharge
Rubrospinal excitation of flexor muscles
in upper extremities
Causes decorticate rigidity (flexion of
upper extremities and extension of
lower extremities)
Seen in hemiplegic side in humans after
haemorrhage or thromboses in
internal capsule
Decortication
SPINAL CORD
Spinal cord

 Spinal cord carries the ascending and descending tracts and serve
as the integration center of sensory and motor neurons

 Posture and movement ultimately depend on contraction of some

skeletal muscles while other muscles remain relaxed

 Execution of this coordinated contraction is largely through reflexes

integrated in the spinal cord

 Spinal cord reflexes are stereotypical motor responses to specific

kinds of stimuli, such as stretch of the muscle
Reflex Arc
 Five components
1. Receptor (sensory
cell)
2. Sensory neuron
3. Integration center
(interneuron,
synapses)
4. Motor neuron
5. Effector (muscle or
gland cells)
Muscle spindle

 Stretch receptor for skeletal muscle

 Consists of intrafusal fibres (nuclear bag and
nuclear chain fibres) enclosed in capsule and
lies parallel to extrafusal muscle
 Central portion acts as receptor (innervated by
sensory nerves, Ia and group II)
 The end portions are contractile (innervated by
gamma motor neurons)
 Modify level of tension in muscle spindle
 Increases sensitivity so easier to elicit stretch reflex
Muscle spindle

1a

Nuclear bag fibre

and nuclear chain
fibre

1b
Muscle spindle
 Muscle spindle responds to a stretch (i.e., changes in muscle
length)
 sensory nerves 1a send signals to spinal cord

 synapse with alpha motor neurons

 Spinal cord sends message back to muscles, causes contraction

(pulls muscle back to original length)
Types of spinal cord reflexes

Type of No of Stimulus for Sensory Responses

reflex synapses reflex afferent
fibers

Stretch reflex 1 Stretch Ia Contraction of

(knee jerk) (lengthening the muscle
of the muscle)

Golgi tendon 2 Contraction Ib Relaxation of

reflex (clasp (shortening of the muscle
knife) muscle)

Flexor- many Pain, A delta Flexion

withdrawal temperature ipsilateral;
reflex contraction
contralateral
Monosynaptic stretch reflex/ myotatic reflex
Golgi tendon reflex/ inverse myotatic reflex
Flexor-withdrawal reflex
Brain influence on spinal reflexes
 Axons descend from centres in brain stem and cerebral cortex and
terminate onto spinal interneurons and directly onto alpha and
gamma motor neurons

 Control conscious and unconscious movement, as well as reflexes

 Effects are either inhibitory or excitatory

 Stimulation of gamma motor neurons causes the contractile ends of

muscle spindle to shorten and stretches the nuclear bag of muscle
spindle, initiating impulses in 1a fibres

 Jendrassik maneuvre: reduce inhibition of descending fibers from brain stem on

gamma motor neuron. Increases sensitivity of intrafusal muscle, making it easier
to elicit stretch reflex
Spinal cord injury
 Depending on level of injury, physical
problems include
 Spinal shock
 Ventilation and communication problems
 ANS dysfunction
 Impaired muscle pump and venous innervation
 Altered sensorimotor integrity
 Altered pain responses
 Altered bowel and bladder elimination
 Impaired sexual function
Summary

Brain
stem