BUS 17 Lecture 36:
Document Summary
Task 1 - chapter 14: brain control of movement (bear et al. ) Explore how brain influences activity of spinal cord to command voluntary movements. Central motor system arranged as hierarchy of control levels. Cerebral neocortex has info (vision, audition, somatic sensation) about where body is in space. Strategies must be devised to move body from current to goal state. Several options available to pitcher (e. g. fast ball, curve ball) and alternatives are filtered through basal ganglia and back to cortex until final decision is made. Motor areas of cortex and cerebellum make tactical decision and issue instructions to brain stem & spinal cord. Activation of neurons in brain stem & spinal cord then causes movement to be executed. Proper functioning of each level of motor control hierarchy relies so heavily on sensory information that motor system of brain might be considered a sensorimotor system. At highest level, sensory info generates mental image of body and its relationship to environment.
