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Hierarchy of Motor Control

Hierarchy of Motor Control

The hierarchy of motor control refers to the different levels of organization and processing involved in controlling movement in the body. These levels range from higher cortical areas involved in planning and decision-making to lower spinal cord reflexes that respond automatically to external stimuli.

Major Somatic Sensory Pathways

Major Somatic Sensory Pathways

Sensory impulses related to touch, pressure, vibration, and proprioception from various body parts, such as the limbs, trunk, neck, and posterior head, travel to the cerebral cortex through the posterior column-medial lemniscus pathway. The pathway’s name derives from the two white-matter tracts that convey the impulses: the spinal cord's posterior column and the brainstem's medial lemniscus. First-order sensory neurons extend their axons into the spinal cord, forming the posterior columns...

Vision

Vision

Vision is the result of light being detected and transduced into neural signals by the retina of the eye. This information is then further analyzed and interpreted by the brain. First, light enters the front of the eye and is focused by the cornea and lens onto the retina—a thin sheet of neural tissue lining the back of the eye. Because of refraction through the convex lens of the eye, images are projected onto the retina upside-down and reversed.

Motor and Sensory Areas of the Cortex

Motor and Sensory Areas of the Cortex

The cerebral cortex, the brain's outermost layer, is pivotal in processing complex cognitive tasks, emotions, and various sensory inputs and executing voluntary motor activities. This intricate structure is divided into three primary functional areas: the motor areas, sensory areas, and association areas.
Motor Areas
The motor areas located in the frontal lobe are central to controlling voluntary movements. This region is further subdivided into the primary motor cortex and the premotor cortex.

Indirect Motor Pathways

Indirect Motor Pathways

The indirect motor or extrapyramidal pathways originate in the brainstem, the lower portion of the brain that connects it to the spinal cord. They consist of several distinct tracts, each with specialized functions. The four main tracts of the indirect motor pathways are the vestibulospinal tract, the reticulospinal tract, the tectospinal tract, and the rubrospinal tract.
The vestibulospinal tract originates in the vestibular nuclei of the brainstem. The vestibular system detects changes in...

Visual System

Visual System

Light enters the eye through the cornea, a transparent, dome-shaped surface covering the surface of the eyeball that helps to direct and focus incoming light. This light is then channeled toward the pupil, an adjustable opening whose size is controlled by the iris. The iris, a pigmented muscle, regulates the amount of light entering the eye by contracting or dilating the pupil, thereby ensuring optimal light levels for clear vision.
Once through the pupil, the light passes through the lens, a...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 15, 2026

Motor Imagery Performance Through Embodied Digital Twins in a Virtual Reality-Enabled Brain-Computer Interface Environment

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Published on: May 10, 2024

Sensorimotor transformation: from visual responses to motor commands.

Holger G Krapp¹

¹Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK. h.g.krapp@imperial.ac.uk <h.g.krapp@imperial.ac.uk>

Current Biology : CB

|March 12, 2010

Summary

This study shows how flies use vision to sense self-motion, transmitting this information to premotor neurons that control movement. This research clarifies a key neural pathway for motion perception and motor control in insects.

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Methods to Explore the Influence of Top-down Visual Processes on Motor Behavior

Methods to Explore the Influence of Top-down Visual Processes on Motor Behavior

Published on: April 16, 2014

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Insect Physiology
Sensory Biology

Background:

Understanding how animals perceive self-motion is crucial for comprehending motor control.
Flies utilize visual cues for navigation and maintaining stability.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the neural pathways transmitting vision-based self-motion estimates.
To identify the specific neurons involved in this sensory-motor transformation.

Main Methods:

Electrophysiological recordings in flies.
Analysis of neural circuit connectivity.
Behavioral experiments assessing motion perception.

Main Results:

Vision-based self-motion information is relayed to premotor descending neurons.
These neurons connect to motor centers controlling various fly behaviors.
The study maps a specific pathway for visual motion processing.

Conclusions:

Premotor descending neurons are key integrators of visual self-motion information.
This neural circuit enables flies to accurately adjust motor commands based on visual input.
The findings provide insights into the evolution of sensory-motor systems.