1 Bi/CNS 150 Lecture 19 Monday November 11, 2013 Motor Systems Chapter 14, p 309 (ALS); chapter 34, 35, 37, 38 Henry Lester, based on Ralph Adolphs’s lectures

22 Today: Motor cortex Corticospinal tract Motor neurons Reflexes Basal ganglia Higher motor functions

3 1. Transduction 2. Perception (early) 3. Recognition (late perception) 4. Memory (association) 5. Judgment (valuation, preference) 6. Planning (goal formation) 7. Action Stages of Processing

44 Sensory & Motor Aspects of Behavior Account for Roughly Equal Times 4

Spinal reflexes and motor units Posture and muscle tone Locomotion Control of distal extremities Breathing Eye movements Speech Emotions Autonomic Nervous System (visceromotor) Examples of motor output 5

Motor output at different levels Reflexes --spinal --central "Fixed action patterns" Emotional reactions Actions Long-term plans Stimulus-coupled Stimulus-decoupled 6

7 Primary Motor Cortex BA 4 Premotor/supplementary Motor cortex BA 6 Frontal Eye Fields BA 8 Broca’s Area (left side) BA 44, 45 Prefrontal Cortex (Frontal Association Areas) Motor Areas of Cortex

8 Structure of Motor Cortex vs Sensory Cortex have striking differences 8

Motor System Hierarchy ganglia Motor System Hierarchy 9

Key Motor Tracts 10 Decussation in hindbrain

Motor unit: motoneuron and all innervated muscle fibers; variable number of fibers, depending on force required Alpha-motoneuron: final common pathway Motoneuron terminals, endplates, muscle action potentials, muscle contraction When MN fires, all muscle fibers contract Recruitment: adding muscle units to increase force of contraction Some Spinal Cord Motor Concepts 11

Fewer Myelinated Fibers in Lower Spinal Cord 12

The Motor Unit 13

Myelin Dorsal Horn Sensory Ventral Horn Motor Ventral Root Motor Motoneuron in Typical Spinal Cord Cross Section Motoneuron 14

Electrophysiology of the Motor Neuron and Muscle Fiber Previous Lectures 15

Herniated Disks Compress Nerve Roots (L5 most common) 16

Force increased by recruiting motor units Motoneurons of different sizes: small MNS to small, slow motor units; large MNs to large, fast motor units Size principle: smallest motor units (and smallest force) first; then larger motor units Muscle fibers: slow (red); fatigue resistant (intermediate); fast, fatigue (white) Motor Unit Size & Physiology 17

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Sensorimotor integration in absence of supraspinal input Motoneurons get input from sensory fibers, interneurons and descending fibers Stretch reflexes Flexion-withdrawal reflex Crossed extensor reflex 97% of spinal cord neurons are interneurons. Reflexes must be coordinated; this is complex 19 Tracts Groups of interneurons

Ipsilateral part of the crossed extensor reflex: Interneurons inhibit extensors when the flexors are commanded, and vice-versa 20 Figure 35-2B

A Feedback Loop Controls Muscle Function 21

Intrafusal fibers in parallel with extrafusal muscle fibers Two types of sensory fibers – primary (Group Ia fibers) and secondary (Group II fibers) spindle afferents Group Ia – change in length (dynamic) Group II – length (static) Golgi tendon organ measures tension of muscle contraction Sensory information goes to spinal cord segment, dorsal column nuclei (proprioception), and cerebellum 1. Sensory Organs in Muscle Participate in the Feedback Loop Extrafusal fibers 22

Small MNs that project out ventral roots to intrafusal fibers Activity in gamma-MNs contracts the intrafusal muscles and makes the spindle apparatus more sensitive In turn, the group Ia and II fibers become more active Gamma-bias impacts muscle tone 2. Gamma motoneurons in muscle participate in the feedback loop Extrafusal fibers 23

Damage to Motoneuron (Cell body or axon) Example: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) “Lou Gehrig’s Disease” 24 “Upper” motoneurons also degenerate Loss of motor unit innervation leads to weakness or paralysis of muscle Fasciculations (spontaneous contractions of muscle fibers); detected with electromyography (EMG) Atrophy of muscles, due to loss of trophic factors from motoneuron Hyporeflexia or areflexia Average time from diagnosis to death ~ 3 yr

The Basal Ganglia and ventral midbrain: Most Nuclei are GABAergic 25 “striatum” Dopaminergic. Future lecture on Parkinson’s disease Glutamatergic

26 The Basal Ganglia: Major inputs “striatum”

27 The Basal Ganglia: Projections among nuclei

Behaviors in Basal Ganglia Diseases Three common characteristics: tremor and other involuntary movements changes in posture and muscle tone slowness of movement without paralysis Cause either excess or diminished movement Cognitive changes (via caudate nucleus) 28

Damage in the Motor System Lower Motor NeuronUpper Motor NeuronBasal Ganglia ParalysisParesis (weakness)No paralysis Muscle atrophyNo atrophy Areflexia & atoniaHyperreflexia, hypertonia, spasticity Parkinson’s: rigidity, resting tremor, bradykinesia Huntington’s: chorea, hyperkinesia Ipsi deficit in spinal cord Contra deficit above decussation; Ipsi deficit below decussation Contra 29

30 Stimulation in human motor cortex. An array is implanted... to localize an epileptic focus

31 Anterior Cingulate Cortex Lesions in this region cause impairment in one of the hierarchically highest levels of the motor system: the will to act. Patients with lesions to ACC can exhibit "akinetic mutism": they are not paralyzed and are conscious but respond poorly to their surroundings. They sometimes respond to very automatic things, like picking up a phone that rings next to their bedside (but then say nothing). They often recover, and then explain that while in this state, they were fully conscious but just lacked motivation to do anything and so did not respond or act on their surroundings.

32 Links Between Perception and Action: Why Can’t You Tickle Yourself?

Mirror Neurons 33 Links Between Perception and Action: Mirror Neurons

End of Lecture 19