Tags & Description
aerobic
requiring the use of oxygen during movements
anaerobic
not aerobic
proceeding without using oxygen at the time of a reaction
antagonist muscles
movement requires the alternating contraction of opposing sets of muscles
composed of flexor and extensor muscles
cardiac muscles
heart muscles that have properties of skeletal and smooth muscles (smooth muscles: control the digestive system and other organs)
extensor
an antagonistic muscle
extends an appendage or straightens it
fast-twitch fibers
skeletal muscles type
produce fast contractions but fatigue rapidly
anaerobic, using reactions that do not require oxygen resulting in fatigue
*slow-twitch fibers: produce less vigorous contraction without fatigue
Golgi tendon organs
proprioceptor that responds to increases in muscle tension
located in the tendons at the opposite ends of the muscle
acts as a “brake” against excessively vigorous contraction by sending an impulse to the spinal cord where motor neurons are inhibited
muscle spindle
proprioceptors parallel to the muscle that respond to a stretch: cause a contraction of the muscle
*proprioceptor: receptors that detect the position or movement of a part of the body
neuro muscular junction
a synapse between a motor neuron axon and a muscle fiber
skeletal or striated muscles
control movement of the body in relation to the environment
basal ganglia
group of large subcortical structures in the forebrain
initiates actions not guided by a stimulus
comprised of the caudate nucleus, putamen, globus pallidus
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, inhibiting the thalamus
selects a movement to make by ceasing to inhibit it
*subcortical: below the (cerebellar) cortex
mirror neurons
active during both preparation of a movement and while watching someone else perform the same or similar movement
posterior parietal cortex
part of the cerebral cortex
keeps track of the position of the body relative to the world
important for planning movement
premotor cortex
part of the cerebral cortex
active during preparation for a movement, then receives information about a target, then integrates information about position and posture of the body and organizes the direction of the movement in space
primary motor cortex
part of the cerebral cortex
located in the precentral gyrus located in the frontal lobe
huntington
protein that codes Huntington's disease
occurs throughout the human body, although its mutant form produces no known harm outside the brain
the mutant form impairs neurons and glia in several ways, including effects on mitochondria and potassium channels
Huntington's disease
neurological disorder characterized by jerky arm movements and facial twitches and later by tremors, writhing movements, and psychological symptoms
L-dopa
the primary treatment for Parkinson’s
is a precursor to dopamine that easily crosses the blood-brain barrier
MPTP
a drug similar to heroin that when converted to MPP accumulates in, and then destroys, neurons that release dopamine, partly by impairing the transport of mitochondria from the cell body to the synapse (causing Parkinson's disease)
Parkinson's disease
a movement 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
caused by gradual and progressive death of neurons, especially in the substantia nigra
loss of dopamine leads to less stimulation of the motor cortex and slower onset of movements
symptoms also include depression, memory and reasoning deficits, loss of olfaction, and other cognitive deficits
stem cells
immature cells that are capable of differentiating into other cell types
used in a theoretical approach where they are guided in their their development so that they produce large quantities of L-dopa, and then transplanted into the brain to treat Parkinson's disease