Motor Control, Mirror Neurons, and Neurolinguistics

Flashcards about motor control, mirror neurons, and neurolinguistics for exam preparation.

What is Motor Control?

The process by which the nervous system coordinates the body’s muscles to produce purposeful movements, integrating sensory information, motor planning, and execution.

What are Simple Reflexes?

Fast, automatic responses (e.g., knee jerk) mediated at the spinal cord level.

What is Posture and Postural Change?

Maintaining balance and adapting to changes in body position.

What is Locomotion?

Walking, running, and other repetitive, rhythmic movements.

What is Sensory Orientation?

Movements guided by sensory input, such as head turning and eye fixation.

What are Species-Specific Action Patterns?

Instinctive behaviors like ingestion, courtship, and grooming.

What are Acquired Skills?

Learned behaviors such as speaking, playing sports, or driving.

What is Goal Identification in Motor Action?

The task is identified, and sensory information is gathered.

What is Movement Planning in Motor Action?

The central nervous system (CNS) perceives the information and chooses an appropriate motor plan.

What is Coordination in Motor Action?

The plan is coordinated within the CNS and executed via motor neurons.

What is Execution in Motor Action?

Motor commands are sent to muscles, resulting in movement.

What is Feedback in Motor Action?

Sensory feedback allows for adjustments and learning for future actions.

Where does Motor Output originate?

Originate in the motor cortex and travel through descending pathways to spinal motor neurons, which innervate muscles.

What are the Major Motor Pathways?

Pyramidal and Extrapyramidal Systems

What does the Corticospinal Tract control?

Controls voluntary movements of the limbs and trunk.

What does the Lateral Corticospinal Tract control?

Fine manipulations of distal limbs.

What does the Ventral Corticospinal Tract control?

Posture and locomotion.

What does the Corticobulbar Tract control?

Controls muscles of the face and tongue via cranial nerves.

Where do Extrapyramidal Pathways originate and what do they regulate?

Originate in the brainstem and basal ganglia; regulate involuntary movements, posture, tone, and reflexes.

Where is the Primary Motor Cortex (M1) located and what does it do?

Located in the precentral gyrus of the frontal lobe, executes voluntary movements via pyramidal neurons, organized somatotopically.

What results from damage to the Primary Motor Cortex (M1)?

Weakness and loss of fine motor control.

What does the Premotor Cortex do?

Plans and coordinates movements, especially those guided by external cues; involved in imitation and action planning.

What does lesions in the Premotor Cortex result in?

Impaired stability, gait, and hand coordination.

What does the Supplementary Motor Area (SMA) do?

Involved in the conception and initiation of movement sequences.

What results from lesions in the Supplementary Motor Area (SMA)?

Deficits in voluntary movement and speech.

What do the Basal Ganglia do?

Modulate motor activity, especially initiation and termination of movements; important for motor learning, pattern selection, and internally guided movements.

What does Dysfunction in the Basal Ganglia lead to?

Parkinson's and Huntington's disease.

What does the Cerebellum do?

Coordinates timing, precision, and learning of movements; receives sensory input and provides feedback for motor correction.

What does Damage to the Cerebellum lead to?

Ataxia, intention tremor, and decomposition of movement.

What is Paralysis?

loss of voluntary movement due to damage to motor neurons or cortex.

What is Apraxia?

inability to perform purposeful movements despite normal strength and comprehension.

What is Decomposition of Movement?

movements are broken into segments instead of being smooth.

What are the key symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease?

resting tremor, rigidity, bradykinesia, and postural instability.

What are the key symptoms of Huntington’s Disease?

involuntary jerks and cognitive decline.

What do Mirror Neurons do?

Activate both when an individual performs an action and when they observe another individual performing the same or a similar action.

What are the Anatomical Locations of Mirror Neurons in Monkeys?

Ventral Premotor Cortex (Area F5) and Inferior Parietal Lobule (IPL)

What are the Anatomical Locations of Mirror Neurons in Humans?

Ventral Premotor Cortex, Inferior Parietal Lobule (IPL), Inferior Frontal Gyrus (IFG), Supplementary Motor Area (SMA), Primary Somatosensory Cortex

What are Strictly Congruent Neurons?

Respond only when the observed and executed actions are identical

What are Broadly Congruent Neurons?

Respond to a broader range of similar actions, not requiring exact matching.

How do Mirror Neurons contribute to Action Understanding?

Allows individuals to understand the actions of others by internally simulating those actions within their own motor systems.

How do Mirror Neurons contribute to Imitation and Learning?

Enables individuals to reproduce observed behaviors.

How do Mirror Neurons contribute to Intention Understanding?

Allows observers to infer not just what action is being performed, but why it is being performed.

How do Mirror Neurons contribute to Empathy and Emotion?

Implicated in empathy—the ability to share and understand the emotional states of others.

How do Mirror Neurons contribute to Language Evolution?

Provides the neural foundation for the evolution of language.

What does the Psycholinguistics field study?

Cognitive mechanisms of language use.

What does the Neurolinguistics field study?

Neural substrates of language processing.

What are Onomatopoeias?

Words that imitate, resemble or suggest the source of the sound that they describe.

What is the Bouba/Kiki e ect?

Mapping between speech sounds and the visual shape of objects.

What is Synesthesia?

Individuals with synesthesia associate words to perceptual elements

What is Dyslexia?

Problem in learning to read