PHGY 209 Lecture Notes - Fasciculation, Collagen, Jerky
6 Apr 2012
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Document Summary
The next area will study is motor behaviour, with an emphasis on the spinal cord because we know more about it than the brain. Motor behaviour is goal or purpose oriented due to higher processing in the brain. There are two types of motor behaviour: voluntary and reflexive: voluntary motor behaviour is a very small portion of the overall system. These are the movements are think about doing: reflexive movements are the majority of the system and involve the spinal cord and regions of the brain. For example, simply sitting upright requires 100s of microadjustments per second so you don"t fall over. The nervous system is required for movement. A very peculiar sea animal actually loses its nervous system and loses its motor function: at a young age, this organism has a nervous system and swims freely. However, at some point, it anchors down onto a surface and loses all motor function.
