Kines 101 Exam 2

Sharples Section

motor control

how the central nervous system moves body segments and maintains posture to meet task goals

neuroscience

scientific study of the nervous system

connectome

complete wiring of the nervous system

Central Nervous System (CNS)

central nervous system: brain, spinal cord, retina

Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

peripheral nervous system: nerves and ganglia outside the CNS

gray matter

regions rich in neuron cell bodies; processing

white matter

bundles of myelinated axons (tracts); communication

tract

bundle of axons inside the CNS

Nucleus (CNS)

cluster of gray matter deep inside the brain

afferent

sensory, carries information to the CNS

Afferent arrives

efferent

motor; carries commands from the CNS

Efferent Exits

somatic nervous system

voluntary movement and body sensation

autonomic nervous system

involuntary control (sympathetic and parasympathetic)

torque

rotational force produced across a joint

action potential

electrical signal across a cell membrane caused by ion movement

neuromuscular junction

synapse between a motorneuron and a muscle fibre

acetylcholine

neurotransmitter released at the NMJ

end plate potential

electrical response of the muscle to acetylcholine

motor unit

one motorneuron plus all the muscle fibres it controls

muscle twitch

contraction produced by a single impulse

rate coding

increasing force by increasing firing rate

recruitment

increasing force by activating more motorneurons

size principle

more units are recruited from small to large