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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...

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.

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...

Microtubule Associated Motor Proteins

Microtubule Associated Motor Proteins

Eukaryotic cells have different motor proteins for transporting various cargo within the cell. These motor proteins differ based on the filament they associate with, the direction they move within the cell, and the type of cargo they transport. Motor proteins that associate with microtubules are known as microtubule-associated motor proteins. There are two families of microtubule-associated motor proteins —Kinesins and Dyneins. Both these proteins assist in the transport of cellular...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 13, 2026

The Impact of Motor Task Conditions on Goal-Directed Arm Reaching Kinematics and Trunk Compensation in Chronic Stroke Survivors

The Impact of Motor Task Conditions on Goal-Directed Arm Reaching Kinematics and Trunk Compensation in Chronic Stroke Survivors

Published on: May 2, 2021

Do trunk-based left/right judgment tasks elicit motor imagery?

Latifah Alazmi¹, Grace E Gadsby¹, Nicola R Heneghan¹

¹The University of Birmingham, UK.

Musculoskeletal Science & Practice

|March 17, 2018

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Trunk-based left/right judgment tasks (LRJTs) may not effectively elicit motor imagery for trunk movements. Results suggest current trunk-based LRJTs may have limited clinical value for chronic pain management.

Keywords:

Back pain Laterality Left/right judgement Motor imagery

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Last Updated: Feb 13, 2026

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Assessment of Mouse Judgment Bias through an Olfactory Digging Task

Assessment of Mouse Judgment Bias through an Olfactory Digging Task

Published on: March 4, 2022

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Human Movement Science
Clinical Psychology

Background:

Left/right judgment tasks (LRJTs) are utilized in chronic pain management, assuming they elicit motor imagery.
While limb-based LRJTs are established, trunk-based LRJTs' capacity to evoke motor imagery of trunk movements remains unproven.

Purpose of the Study:

To determine if trunk-based LRJT data indicate motor imagery for presented lateralized trunk postures.
To assess the efficacy of trunk-based LRJTs in eliciting motor imagery.

Main Methods:

A cross-sectional, within-subject experiment was conducted with 29 pain-free participants.
Participants performed a trunk-based LRJT, judging left/right movements (rotated/side-flexed) with varying amplitudes and figure orientations.

Main Results:

Accuracy was higher and response times faster with larger movement amplitudes, contradicting motor imagery predictions.
Figure orientation influenced accuracy and response times, aligning with prior research.

Conclusions:

The findings suggest trunk-based LRJTs do not consistently elicit motor imagery of lateralized trunk movements.
The clinical utility of trunk-based LRJTs in pain management warrants re-evaluation.