1

Chapter Eight
Movement
2 Muscles and Their Movements

Smooth muscles control internal organs

Skeletal or striated muscles control movement of
body in relation to the environment
axons release acetylcholine at synapse
each muscle moves in one direction and in
absence of acetylcholine it relaxes
movement in two directions requires
antagonistic muscles: flexor to raise arm and
extensor to lower arm
3 Figure 8.3

Figure 8.3 A pair of antagonistic muscles. The biceps of the arm is a flexor; the triceps is an extensor.
(Source: From Biology: The Unity and Diversity of Life, 5th Edition, by C. Starr and R. Taggert, p.331.
Copyright © 1989 Wadsworth. Reprinted by permission.)
4 Muscles and Their Movements

Cardiac or heart muscles

somewhat between smooth and
skeletal muscles
5
6

Myasthenia Gravis is autoimmune

disease
immune system anti-bodies attack
acetylcholine receptors;
weakness and rapid fatigue of muscles
because motor neurons can’t constantly
produce maximum acetylcholine
7 Skeletal muscle types range from:

fast twitch fibers: fast contractions, easily

fatigued
fibers are anaerobic and do not require oxygen
during movement and resulting in fatigue.
slow twitch fibers: slow contractions
resistant to fatigue, increased by long-
distance running
fibers are aerobic and use reactions that require
oxygen, no fatigue.
8 Muscles and Their Movements
Proprioceptors: receptor that is sensitive to
the position or movement of a part of the
body
muscle spindle: senses stretch of muscle and
sends negative feedback to motor neuron to
contract
Golgi tendon organ: senses increase in
muscle tension and sends message to inhibit
motor neuron and brake contraction
9

Figure 8.5 Two kinds of proprioceptors regulate the contraction of a muscle. When a muscle is stretched,
the nerves from the muscle spindles transmit an increased frequency of impulses, resulting in a contraction
of the surrounding muscle. Contraction of the muscle stimulates the Golgi tendon organ, which acts as a
brake or shock absorber to prevent a contraction that is too quick or extreme.
10 Muscles and Their Movements

The brain reacts to sensations that differ

from its expectations or predictions
E.g. expectation on small dense object vs.
a larger less dense object
11 Voluntary and Involuntary
Movements

Reflexes - are consistent automatic

responses to stimuli
Most movements, e.g., walking, are a
combination of voluntary and involuntary
muscle control
involuntarily adjust to irregularities in road
and automatically swing your arms
12 Infant Reflexes

Grasp reflex - grasps objects placed in the

hand.
Babinski reflex - extends big toe and fans
others when the sole of the foot is stroked.
Rooting reflex - turns head and sucks when
cheek is stimulated.
13
14 Try this:

While sitting, raise your right foot and make

clockwise circles. Keep your foot moving while
you draw the number 6 in the air with your right
hand. Or just move the right hand in
counterclockwise
15 Sensitivity to Feedback

Central pattern generators

neural mechanisms in spinal cord and
elsewhere that generate rhythmic patterns
of motor output
Ex. A cat scratches itself at a rate of 3 to 4
strokes per second regardless of what
caused it to start scratching
16
17 Sensitivity to Feedback

Motor program is a fixed sequence of

movements that is either learned or built into
the nervous system.
once begun, the sequence is fixed from beginning
to end.
Automatic in the sense that thinking or talking
about it interferes with the action.
Ex: Mouse grooming itself, skilled musicians
playing a piece, or a gymnast’s routine.
18
19 Brain Mechanisms of Movement
20 Cerebral Cortex

The primary motor cortex is located in the

precentral gyrus located in the frontal lobe
Axons from the precentral gyrus connect to
the brainstem and the spinal cord which
generate activity patterns to control the
muscles.
Important for complex actions such as talking
and writing
21 Cerebral Cortex

The primary motor cortex is also active

when you imagine movements,
remember movements, or understand
verbs related to movements
22
23 Cerebral Cortex

The brain area that controls the left hand is

near the area that feels the left hand, the
area that controls the left foot is near the
area that feels the left foot, and so forth. You
need to feel a body part to control its
movements accurately.
24 Cerebral Cortex

Specific areas of the motor cortex are

responsible for control of specific areas of the
body.
some overlap exists.
25 Cerebral Cortex

The stimulation produced a certain

outcome, not a particular muscle
movement. The motor cortex orders an
outcome and leaves it to the spinal cord
and other areas to find the right
combination of muscles.
27

Figure 8.8 Principal areas of the motor cortex in the human brain. Cells in the premotor cortex and
supplementary motor cortex are active during the planning of movements, even if the movements
are never actually executed.
28 Planning a Movement

Posterior parietal cortex monitors the position of

the body relative to the world.
Prefrontal cortex and supplementary motor
cortex also important for planning and
organizing a rapid sequence of movements.
29 Planning a Movement

Supplementary motor cortex becomes

active after an error in movement,
developing ways to inhibit the incorrect
movement the next time.
essential for inhibiting that habit when you need to
do something else
30 Planning a Movement

Premotor cortex is most active immediately

before a movement. It receives an
information about the target to which the
body is directing its movement, as well as
information about the body’s current
position and posture.
31 Planning a Movement

Prefrontal cortex, also active during a

delay before a movement, stores sensory
information relevant to a movement.
Also considers the probable outcomes of
possible movements
32
33 Mirror Neurons

Active during preparation for a movement

and while watching someone else perform
the same or similar movement.
Important in understanding other people,
identifying with them and imitating them.
34
35 Mirror Neurons

many mirror neurons modify their properties

by learning, and probably developed their
original properties by learning also.
36 Connections from the Brain to the
Spinal Cord
Corticospinal tracts - Paths from the
cerebral cortex to the spinal cord
lateral corticospinal tract is a pathway of
axons from the primary motor cortex,
surrounding areas of the cortex, and from the
red nucleus, a midbrain area that controls
certain aspects of movement
37 Connections from the Brain to the
Spinal Cord
 medial corticospinal tract includes axons from
many parts of the cerebral cortex, not just the
primary motor cortex and its surrounding areas.
– muscles of the neck.
– shoulders and trunk.
Enables movements such as walking,
turning, bending, standing up and sitting
down.
 Figure 7.12 The lateral and medial corticospinal tracts
The lateral tract (a) crosses from one side of the brain to the opposite side of the spinal cord and controls precise
and discrete movements of the extremities, such as hands, fingers, and feet. The medial tract (b) controls trunk
38 muscles for postural adjustments and bilateral movements such as standing, bending, turning, and walking.
39

Figure 7.13 The touch path and the

lateral corticospinal tract
Both paths cross in the medulla so that
each hemisphere has access to the
opposite side of the body. The touch
path goes from touch receptors toward
the brain; the corticospinal path goes
from the brain to the muscles.
40 Cerebellum
a structure in the brain often associated with
balance and coordination.
Relates to aim or timing.
– Examples: clapping hands, speaking, writing,
etc.
Try this: Finger to nose test
41 Cerebellum

Becomes active in many situations when the

individual is not moving
e.g felt things with both hands to decide
whether they were the same or different
42
43

Figure 7.15 Cellular organization of

the cerebellum
Parallel fibers (yellow) activate one
Purkinje cell after another. Purkinje cells
(red) inhibit a target cell in one of the
nuclei of the cerebellum (not shown,
but toward the bottom of the
illustration). The more Purkinje cells
that respond, the longer the target cell
is inhibited. In this way, the cerebellum
controls the duration of a movement.
44 Basal Ganglia

is a group of large subcortical structures in the

forebrain important for initiation of behaviors.
Comprised of the following structures:
– Caudate nucleus.
– Putamen.
– Globus pallidus.
Particularly important for spontaneous, self-
initiated behaviors.
45 Basal Ganglia

Caudate nucleus and putamen receive

input from the cerebral cortex and send
output to the globus pallidus.
• Globus pallidus connects to the thalamus
which relays information to the motor areas
and the prefrontal cortex..
46
47 Basal Ganglia
Regulate the vigor (strength/force) of the
movement
Reaction to a stimulus (seeing the other person
go for his gun) is faster than a spontaneous
movement
On average, when people reacting to other
people’s act, they made the movements 9%
faster
Critical for learning new habits
48 Conscious Decisions and Movement

Motor cortex produces readiness potential

before any voluntary movement
Brain activity responsible for the movement
apparently began before the person’s
conscious decision!.. In short,, your conscious
decision does not cause your action!
49 Conscious Decisions and Movement

Implication: we identify as a conscious

decision is the perception of a gradual
brain process. It probably begins with
unconscious processes that build up to a
certain level before they become
conscious
50
7.3 Movement Disorders
51 Disorders of Movement

Parkinson’s disease is a neurological

disorder characterized by muscle tremors,
rigidity, slow movements and difficulty
initiating physical and mental activity.
Associated with an impairment in initiating
spontaneous movement in the absence of
stimuli to guide the action.
52 Parkinson’s Disease

Caused by gradual and progressive death of

neurons, especially in the substantia nigra.
Substantia nigra sends dopamine-releasing
axons to the caudate nucleus and putamen.
Loss of dopamine leads to less stimulation of
the motor cortex and slower onset of
movements.
53

Figure 7.20 Connections from the substantia nigra: (a) normal and (b) in Parkinson’s disease
Excitatory paths are shown in green; inhibitory are in red. Decreased excitation from the substantia nigra
decreases inhibition from the striatum, leading to increased inhibition from the globus pallidus. The net result is
decreased excitation from the thalamus to the cortex.
54 Parkinson’s Disease
Causes:
Exposure to toxins are one environmental
influence.
Traumatic head injury increases the risk
Cigarette smoking and coffee drinking are
related to a decreased chance of developing
Parkinson’s disease.
Damaged mitochondria of cells seems to be
common to most factors that increase the risk
55 Parkinson’s Disease
Treatment:
The drug L-dopa is the primary treatment for
Parkinson’s and is a precursor to dopamine
that easily crosses the blood-brain barrier.
– Often ineffective and especially for those in
the late stages of the disease.
• Does not prevent the continued loss of
neurons.
• Enters other brain cells producing unpleasant
side effects.
56 Parkinson’s Disease
Treatment:
Other possible treatments for Parkinson’sinclude:
– Antioxidants.
– Drugs that stimulate dopamine receptors or block
glutamate.
– Neurotrophins.
– Drugs that decrease apoptosis.
– High frequency electrical stimulation of the globus
pallidus.
– Transplant of neurons from a fetus.
57
58 Huntington’s Disease

Severe neurological disorder striking 1 in

10,000
Extensive damage to caudate nucleus,
putamen, and globus pallidus, and some in
the cerebral cortex
59 Huntington’s Disease

Symptoms most often appear between 30-50

years
begin with jerky arm movements, then facial
twitch, later tremors spread and develop into
writhing
cannot learn new or improve movements
includes depression, memory impairment, anxiety,
hallucination
may be misdiagnosed as schizophrenic
60 Huntington’s Disease
Presymptomatic tests can identify with high
accuracy who will develop the disease.
– Controlled by an autosomal dominant gene on
chromosome #4.
– The higher the number of consecutive repeats
of the combination C-A-G, the more certain and
earlier the person is to develop the disease.
61 Huntington’s Disease
 No treatment is effective in controlling the
symptoms or slowing the course of the
disease.
For a variety of disorders, the earlier the
onset, the greater the probability of a strong
genetic influence.
62
63

For in Him we live, and move

and have our being;…. For
we are also His offspring.
Acts 17:28