BCS 110 Lecture Notes - Lecture 18: Primary Motor Cortex, Corticospinal Tract, Posterior Column
30 Oct 2018
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Document Summary
Association cortex at the highest level, muscles at the lowest. Signals flow b/w levels over multiple paths. Motor output is guided by sensory input. Ventral horn do not touch the spinal cord. Right next to the wings => anterior lateral - pain. Dorsolateral (up to the side) - descending primary motor pathway. Ventromedial (down to the middle) - descending motor pathway. Pain goes up- anterior lateral and down - dorsolateral. Dorsolateral tracts - corticospinal (direct pathway down) and corticorubrospinal (go from cortex and stop at red nucleus) Control your wrist, hands, fingers, and toes. Dorsolateral tracts tend to synapse on small interneurons in the cord that synapse on motor neurons of distal targets. One direct tract and one indirect in both. Move proximal muscles and posture and whole body movements. Interneurons may excite or inhibit lower motor neurons. The smallest unit of motor activity = motor unit (consists of a motor neuron and muscle fibers it contacts)
