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Medicine Notes Neurology Notes

Motor Control (Supraspinal Mechanisms) Notes

Updated Motor Control (Supraspinal Mechanisms) Notes

Neurology Notes

Neurology

Approximately 117 pages

These notes helped me achieve a mark of 76% in my neurology exam, which is the equivalent of a 1st. The notes are based on a series of 49 lectures on the subject. This is a very good, thorough and in depth review of the nervous system. They are very clearly laid out and easy to follow. They cut out unnecessary information on the topic, making the notes very concise, and fast to get through. Anyone studying medicine, or any other subject requiring knowledge of the nervous system (e.g. physiology o...

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Lecture 21 & 22

Motor Control: Supraspinal Mechanisms

  • Motor system: three levels of control

    • CEREBRAL CORTEX

      • Direct projections from here to spinal cord

      • Parallel projections from brain stem

    • BRAINSTEM

      • CVS and respiratory control

      • Muscle control

    • SPINAL CORD

      • Able to function, even when disconnected from rest of brain

      • Own sophisticated neuronal control

  • Organisation of motor system

    • Parallel

      • Because each level issues commands that act directly on lowest level

      • If one part of motor system is damaged other parts can compensate

    • HIERACHICAL

      • Motor system organised into series of functional levels

      • Higher levels provide commands for lower levels

      • Army picture in book

  • Damage

    • Lower level damage: specific deficit

      • Defect is immediate

      • Limited, specific jobs not done

      • Localised legion and specific deficit

    • Higher level damage

      • At first, nothing may seem wrong

      • But long term planning lost

      • New planning as lower commanders released from higher centres

      • BABINSKI SIGN

        • Upper motor neuron lesion

        • Toes fan out (in babies as descending pathway under-developed)

  • Effects of transaction at different levels of CNS

    • Lesion dividing spinal cord from CNS (lower motor neuron legion- level of C1)

      • Spinal prep

      • Flaccid paralysis

      • Loss of both voluntary and muscle tone

    • Lesion dividing upper and lower brainstem (level of colliculi)

      • Decerebrate prep

      • Decerebrate rigidity

      • Muscle stiffness due to release from upper brain stem control

    • Lesion dividing cerebrum from upper brainstem (level of upper reticular formation)

      • Decorticate prep

      • Spasticity-Exaggerated reflexes

      • Release from cerebral control

  • Organisational features of motor system

    • Body maps

      • Different levels of CNS connected to each other in coordination with representation of different bodily areas

    • Sensory feedback

      • Provide sensory feedback to different levels of CNS to inform them where hand is

      • Friedrich’s ataxia= rare neurological disorder where feedback is lost

    • Descending control- gating of transmission

      • Sends messages to muscles, but also receives info and blocks out unnecessary (lateral inhibition)

  • Brainstem

    • Descending motor pathways

AMINERGIC MEDIAL LATERAL
Brainstem e.g. Locus Coeruleus e.g. Superior colic; Deiters; Pontine retic f. Red nucleus
Descending tracts Tectospinal; vestibulospinal; Reticulospinal (mainly via ventromedial columns) Rubrospinal (lateral columns)
Spinal cord Widespread terminations throughout spinal grey matter Widespread terminations in medial part of ventral horn Less widespread terminations in lateral part of ventral horn
Regulate the general level of excitability of spinal...

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