PSYB45H3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Myasthenia Gravis, Supplementary Motor Area, Neuromuscular Junction
Document Summary
It is important for watching someone else do something and internalizing that into something that we ourselves can do: the cerebellum is important for executing smooth and coordinated movements. The emg can show this, these muscles activate in opposite directions. Zooming in on our neuromuscular junction: there are motor neurons that extend from the spinal cord that actually synapse onto or connect to the muscle fibers. The connection onto the muscle fiber is called the motor end plate. Motor end plate and the role of ach release: at the motor end plate the primary driver of muscle contractions is the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. When we control or pull in a muscle, the motor end plate has acetylcholine released from it and it will bind to receptors on the muscle fiber and result in a contraction. This is referred to as the neuromuscular junction: you can modulate or affect acetylcholine release and affect how muscles are activated.
