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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...

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...

Motor Units

Motor Units

A motor unit consists of two main components: a single efferent motor neuron (i.e., a neuron that carries impulses away from the central nervous system) and all of the muscle fibers it innervates. The motor neuron may innervate multiple muscle fibers, which are single cells, but only one motor neuron innervates a single muscle fiber.

Motor Units

Motor Units

The motor unit is a fundamental component of the neuromuscular system and plays a crucial role in coordinating muscle contractions. It consists of a somatic motor neuron, which connects and controls multiple skeletal muscle fibers, forming a single functional segment. The axon of the motor neuron branches out and establishes synaptic connections known as neuromuscular junctions with individual muscle fibers within the motor unit.
Motor units come in different sizes, with smaller units...

Motor Unit Stimulation

Motor Unit Stimulation

When the neuron of a motor unit fires an action potential, it triggers a series of events, leading to a twitch contraction in the muscle fibers. The process of excitation-contraction coupling is crucial in relaying the action potential to the muscle fibers.
The latent period of contraction marks the onset of excitation-contraction coupling, when the action potential propagates across the sarcolemma, preparing the muscle fibers for contraction. As the fibers enter the contraction phase, the...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 18, 2026

An Experiment Using Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy and Robot-Assisted Multi-Joint Pointing Movements of the Lower Limb

An Experiment Using Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy and Robot-Assisted Multi-Joint Pointing Movements of the Lower Limb

Published on: June 7, 2024

Motor modules in robot-aided walking.

Leonardo Gizzi¹, Jørgen Feldbæk Nielsen, Francesco Felici

¹Pain Clinic, Center for Anesthesiology, Emergency and Intensive Care Medicine, University Hospital Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.

Journal of Neuroengineering and Rehabilitation

|October 10, 2012

Summary

Robot-assisted walking utilizes similar muscle activation patterns and motor modules as natural walking. This finding supports robotic trainers for restoring typical gait in rehabilitation.

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Last Updated: May 18, 2026

An Experiment Using Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy and Robot-Assisted Multi-Joint Pointing Movements of the Lower Limb

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Published on: July 22, 2014

Area of Science:

Biomechanics
Robotics
Neuroscience

Background:

Locomotion is thought to be controlled by central pattern generators and muscle activation networks.
Muscle synergies and activation signals represent these networks.
Analyzing muscle activity can reveal the modular organization of locomotion.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the modular organization of robot-aided walking.
To analyze muscle synergies and activation signals during robotic locomotion at varying speeds and body weight support levels.

Main Methods:

Non-negative Matrix Factorization (NMF) was applied to surface electromyographic (sEMG) signals.
Data were collected from 8 lower limb muscles of healthy subjects using a gait robotic trainer.
Walking parameters included velocities from 1 to 3 km/h and body weight support from 0 to 30%.

Main Results:

Locomotor activity was characterized by a low-dimensional structure (4 modules), similar to overground walking.
Activation signals exhibited timed bursts, indicative of an impulsive controller, consistent with overground locomotion.
The observed modular organization remained consistent across different speeds, body weight support levels, and participants.

Conclusions:

Robot-aided walking in a Lokomat exhibits similar motor modules and activation signals to overground walking.
These findings validate the use of robotic training for gait rehabilitation.
Robotic training may help re-establish natural walking patterns.