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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.

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...

Direct Motor Pathways

Direct Motor Pathways

The direct motor pathways, also known as the pyramidal tracts, are a group of neural pathways that originate in the brain and descend through the spinal cord. They control the voluntary movement of the body. There are two major direct motor pathways: the corticospinal and the corticobulbar tracts.
The corticospinal tract is responsible for the voluntary movement of the limbs and trunk. It originates in the cerebral cortex of the brain and descends through the cerebrum's internal capsule and the...

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...

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.

Somatosensory, Motor, and Association Cortex

Somatosensory, Motor, and Association Cortex

The somatosensory cortex in the parietal lobes is crucial for interpreting sensory data such as touch, temperature, and proprioception. The somatosensory cortex, situated in the parietal lobes, plays a vital role in interpreting sensory information like touch, temperature, and proprioception—awareness of body position. This specialized brain region features an organized structure wherein neurons at the top primarily process sensations originating from the lower body. In contrast, those at the...

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WheelCon: A Wheel Control-Based Gaming Platform for Studying Human Sensorimotor Control

WheelCon: A Wheel Control-Based Gaming Platform for Studying Human Sensorimotor Control

Published on: August 15, 2020

Computational mechanisms of sensorimotor control.

David W Franklin¹, Daniel M Wolpert

¹Computational and Biological Learning Laboratory, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, UK. dwf25@cam.ac.uk

|November 15, 2011

Summary

The brain uses computational mechanisms like optimal feedback control and sensorimotor learning to overcome challenges in motor control. These strategies enable skilled and efficient actions despite system complexities.

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Motor Control
Computational Neuroscience

Background:

Sensorimotor control involves generating skilled actions despite inherent challenges.
These challenges include nonlinearity, nonstationarity, delays, redundancy, uncertainty, and noise.

Purpose of the Study:

To review the problems inherent in sensorimotor control.
To explore five computational mechanisms the brain may use to address these problems.

Main Methods:

Review of existing literature on sensorimotor control.
Analysis of five key computational mechanisms: optimal feedback control, impedance control, predictive control, Bayesian decision theory, and sensorimotor learning.

Main Results:

Identified key challenges in sensorimotor control.
Detailed five computational mechanisms employed by the brain to mitigate these challenges.

Conclusions:

Computational mechanisms are crucial for overcoming sensorimotor control problems.
These mechanisms enable fluent and skilled sensorimotor behavior.