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Related Concept Videos

Major Somatic Sensory Pathways01:28

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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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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 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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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 14, 2026

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Motor cortical dysfunction develops in spinocerebellar ataxia type 3.

Michelle A Farrar1, Steve Vucic2, Garth Nicholson3

  • 1Discipline of Paediatrics, School of Women's and Children's Health, UNSW Medicine, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.

Clinical Neurophysiology : Official Journal of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology
|October 1, 2016
PubMed
Summary

Motor cortex dysfunction, including reduced inhibition and prolonged conduction, is present in spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3) even before symptoms appear. This progressive cortical dysfunction is linked to SCA3 disease severity and neurodegeneration.

Keywords:
CorticomotoneuronSpinocerebellar ataxia type 3Transcranial magnetic stimulation

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Genetics
  • Neurology

Background:

  • Spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3) is an inherited neurodegenerative disorder.
  • Clinical manifestations extend beyond cerebellar ataxia.
  • Pathophysiology requires further investigation, particularly regarding central nervous system involvement.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore motor cortex function in SCA3 patients.
  • To determine if cortical dysfunction is present in SCA3.
  • To assess the contribution of cortical dysfunction to clinical manifestations.

Main Methods:

  • Combined clinical phenotyping, longitudinal assessments, and central (transcranial magnetic stimulation) and peripheral nerve excitability techniques.
  • Studied 11 genetically characterized SCA3 patients.
  • Compared SCA3 patients with healthy controls.

Main Results:

  • Short-interval intracortical inhibition was significantly reduced in SCA3 patients (presymptomatic and symptomatic) compared to controls (P<0.0005).
  • Central motor conduction time was significantly prolonged in SCA3 patients compared to controls (P<0.0005).
  • Cortical changes were evident before clinical onset and correlated with disease severity.

Conclusions:

  • Progressive cortical dysfunction is identified in SCA3 patients, linked to ataxia development.
  • Alterations in cortical activity are associated with SCA3 pathogenesis and neurodegeneration.
  • Findings highlight the role of the motor cortex in SCA3.