MOVESCI 320 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Pars Compacta, Striatum, Purkinje Fibers
Document Summary
Spinal reflexes- most basic pathways relating sensory stimuli (afference) to motor output (efference). Process information for the purpose of movement even if you don"t undertake the actual movement. Sensory neurons are dorsal, motor neurons are ventral. Sherrington first to define a role for reflexes in 1906. Posited that simple reflexes were the basis of more complex sequences of movement. Traditionally reflexes have been viewed as: rapid, involuntary, stereotyped, graded. However, reflexes are flexible and can be adapted for a given task and/or integrated into complex adaptive movements. Can even reverse motor response elicited by a stimulus. Outline the pathway responsible for the stretch reflex and the evidence supporting a role for sensory information. Excitation of muscle spindles is responsible for the stretch reflex. Ia afferent fibers make monosynaptic excitatory connections to alpha motor neurons innervating the same (homonymous) muscle from which they arise and motor neurons innervating synergist muscles.
