Disorders of Motor Function Flashcards
(180 cards)
The reception of stimuli originating from within the body regarding body position and muscular activity by proprioceptors (sensory nerve endings found in muscles, tendons, joints)
propioception
The condition characterized by spasms or other uncontrolled contractions of the skeletal muscles.
spasticity
An abnormal condition characterized by an inability to coordinate voluntary muscular movement.
ataxia
Involuntary quivering or trembling movements caused by the alternating contraction and relaxation of opposing groups of skeletal muscles.
tremor
A spasm of a portion of a muscle, an entire muscle, or a group of muscles.
myoclonus
Involuntary, rapid, rhythmic movements of the eyeball.
nystagmus
An abnormal condition characterized by the impairment or loss of motor function due to a lesion of the neural or muscular mechanism.
paralysis
Slight or partial paralysis.
paresis
______ muscles are required to carry out skilled movements that coordinate and execute these contractions in a manner that provides for smooth, purposeful, and coordinated movement.
skeletal
Motor function, whether it involves walking, running, or precise finger movements, requires movement and maintenance of
posture
The motor systems are organized in a functional hierarchy, each concerned with increased levels of complexity. The lowest level of the hierarchy occurs at the _______ _______, which contains the basic reflex circuitry needed to coordinate the function of the motor units involved in the planned movement.
spinal cord
Above the spinal cord is the brain stem. Above the brain stem are the cerebellum and basal ganglia—structures that modify the actions of the brain stem systems. Overseeing these supraspinal structures are the motor centers in the
cerebral cortex
The highest level of function, which occurs at the level of the ________ cortex, is concerned with the purpose and planning of the motor movement. The efficiency of movement depends on input from sensory systems that operate in parallel with the motor systems.
frontal
The _______ _____ contains the neuronal circuits that mediate a variety of reflexes and automatic rhythmic movements. Similar circuits governing reflex movements of the face and mouth are located in the brain stem
spinal cord
The simplest circuits are monosynaptic, containing only a primary motor neuron. However, most reflexes are __________, involving one or more interposed interneurons.
polysnaptic
The ______ pathways of the brain stem provide for the basic postural control systems that the cortical motor areas use to organize highly differentiated movements. They consist of tracts that descend in the ipsilateral ventral columns of the spinal cord and terminate in interneurons that influence motor neurons of axial and proximal muscles. These axial and proximal muscles are responsible for postural reflexes, such as those needed for pacing of steps during walking or running and recovery of posture when balance is disrupted.
medial
The _______ brain stem pathways are more concerned with goal-directed movements. They terminate on the interneurons in the dorsolateral part of the spinal gray matter and thus influence the motor neurons that control distal muscles of the limbs. These descending pathways modify the activity of extensor and flexor motor neurons to produce complex motor movements such as walking and running.
lateral
The cortex represents the highest level of motor function. The primary, premotor, and supplementary motor cortices located in the posterior part of the _______ lobe initiate and control precise, skillful, and intentional movements of the distal and especially flexor muscles of the limbs and speech apparatus. These motor areas receive information from the thalamus and somatosensory cortex and, indirectly, from the cerebellum and basal ganglia.
frontal
The primary motor cortex (area 4 if using Brodmann classification of the brain cortical areas), also called the motor strip, is located on the rostral surface and adjacent portions of the ________ _____. The primary motor cortex controls specific muscle movement sequences. It is also the first level of descending control for precise motor movements.
central sulcus
The ________ cortex (Brodmann areas 6 and 8), which is located just anterior to the primary motor cortex, sends some fibers into the corticospinal tract but mainly innervates the primary motor strip. Nerve signals generated by the premotor cortex produce much more complex “patterns” of movement than the discrete patterns generated by the primary motor cortex. For example, the movement pattern to accomplish a particular objective, such as throwing a ball or picking up a fork, is programmed by the prefrontal association cortex and associated thalamic nuclei.
premotor
The __________ motor cortex, which contains representations of all parts of the body, is located on the medial surface of the hemisphere in the premotor region (Brodmann areas 6 and 8). It is intimately involved in the performance of complex, skillful movements that involve both sides of the body.
supplementary
The cerebellum and basal ganglia provide feedback circuits that regulate cortical and brain stem motor areas. They receive inputs from various areas of the cortex and project to the motor cortex through the ________.
thalamus
The ______ _____ provide gracefulness to the performance as well the supportive posture for highly skilled movements
basal ganglia
Cerebellar circuits are involved with the timing and coordination of movements that are in progress and with learning of motor skills. Damage to the cerebellum by vascular lesions of certain familial degenerative disorders produces cerebellar ______, a characteristic loss of coordination and accuracy of limb movement.
ataxia