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Related Concept Videos

Direct Motor Pathways01:11

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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.
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Somatic spinal reflexes are rapid, involuntary muscular responses to external stimuli that involve the somatic musculature and the spinal cord.
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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.
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The muscles of the eye are sophisticated structures that control eye movement and focus, allowing for the precise and rapid adjustments necessary for vision. The human eye is controlled by ten muscles — six extraocular muscles, three intraocular muscles, and one primary eyelid retractor muscle.
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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...
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 30, 2026

Corticospinal Excitability Modulation During Action Observation
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Corticospinal mirror neurons.

A Kraskov1, R Philipp, S Waldert

  • 1Sobell Department of Motor Neuroscience and Movement Disorders, UCL Institute of Neurology, , London WC1N 3BG, UK.

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences
|April 30, 2014
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Pyramidal tract neurons (PTNs) in macaque monkeys exhibit mirror neuron properties, firing during both action execution and observation. This suggests mirror neurons help inhibit unwanted movements when observing others.

Keywords:
corticospinal systemgrasphandmirror neuronmotor cortex

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Motor Control
  • Primate Cognition

Background:

  • Mirror neurons, initially discovered in the ventral premotor cortex (area F5), are thought to play a role in action understanding.
  • Pyramidal tract neurons (PTNs) are crucial for voluntary motor control, projecting directly to spinal motoneurons.
  • The presence and properties of mirror neurons within the primary motor cortex (M1) remain less understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the mirror-like properties of PTNs in the macaque ventral premotor cortex (F5) and primary motor cortex (M1).
  • To compare the characteristics of mirror PTNs in F5 and M1.
  • To explore the functional implications of mirror PTN activity during action observation.

Main Methods:

  • Electrophysiological recordings of PTNs in three macaque monkeys during active grasping and observation of grasps.
  • Analysis of neuronal discharge patterns during both execution and observation phases.
  • Comparison of neuronal activity between area F5 and M1.

Main Results:

  • A significant proportion of PTNs in both F5 (52%) and M1 (58%) displayed mirror-like properties.
  • Some PTNs showed increased activity during both execution and observation ('classical' mirror neurons).
  • Other PTNs exhibited decreased activity during observation ('suppression mirror neurons'), with no corresponding muscle activity (EMG).

Conclusions:

  • PTNs in M1 possess mirror neuron properties, expanding our understanding of this neuronal population.
  • Differences in mirror PTN activity were observed between F5 and M1.
  • The findings suggest the mirror neuron system, including PTNs, may be involved in suppressing unwanted movements during action observation.