WEEK 6 - MOTOR AND COGNITIVE CONTROL

Question 1

key brain structures involved in movement control

Answer 1

prefrontal cortex, premotor cortex, supplementary motor cortex, primary motor cortex, central suculus, primary somatosensory cortex, posterior parietal cortex

Question 2

motor cortex

Answer 2

influences OUTCOMES of movement and precision

Question 3

primary motor cortex

Answer 3

initiates voluntary movement

Question 4

mirror neurons

Answer 4

activated during prep and observation - develops during learning and experience

Question 5

cerebellum

Answer 5

involved in balance and coordination and timing of movements

Question 6

damaged cerebellum

Answer 6

affects rhythm, coordination and speech and impairs activities requiring aim/timing
- does NOT impair continuous motor activity

Question 7

tests to assess cerebellum function

Answer 7

voluntary eye movements, finger-to-nose test

Question 8

cellular organisation of cerebellum

Answer 8

Purkinje cells are flat and arranged in sequential planes, and parallel fibres excite these cells which affects cerebellum output

Question 9

basal ganglia

Answer 9

involved regulating movement and reward responses, appropriate actions, spontaneous and self-initiated behaviours

Question 10

pathways of basal ganglia in movement

Answer 10

direct = enhances selected movement; indirect = inhibits completing movements and is crucial to learning new actions

Question 11

damaged basal ganglia

Answer 11

affects movement and response to larger rewards and impairs strength of spontaneous movement

Question 12

conscious decisions precedes actions

Answer 12

brain activity responsible for movement begins BEFORE conscious awareness which means consciousness may NOT cause actions to be undertaken directly

Question 13

decision and movement

Answer 13

people are generally accurate in reporting sensory stimuli/movement but LESS so with conscious decisions

Question 14

Parkinson’s disease

Answer 14

results from loss of dopamine-releasing axons and associated with cognitive deficits and lack of motivation

Question 15

symptoms of Parkinson’s

Answer 15

rigidity, tremors, slow movements, difficulty initiating voluntary activity

Question 16

L-DOPA treatment in Parkinson’s

Answer 16

L-DOPA converts to dopamine in brain - increases dopamine release but does not slow neuronal loss

Question 17

Huntington’s disease

Answer 17

neurological disorder with variable prevalence across regions and associated with damage in cerebral cortex + basal ganglia

Question 18

symptoms of Huntington’s

Answer 18

arm jerks, facial twitches, tremors, writhing movements

Question 19

psychological disorders in Huntington’s

Answer 19

Apathy, depression, sleeplessness, memory impairment, anxiety, hallucinations, poor judgement, alcoholism

Question 20

testing for Huntington’s

Answer 20

autosomal dominant gene - chromosomal exams show likelihood and approximate onset of disease