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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 4, 2026

Author Spotlight: Enhancing Neurorehabilitation Through EEG, Motor Imagery, and Virtual Reality

Author Spotlight: Enhancing Neurorehabilitation Through EEG, Motor Imagery, and Virtual Reality

Published on: May 10, 2024

Motor Development: Embodied, Embedded, Enculturated, and Enabling.

Karen E Adolph¹, Justine E Hoch¹

¹Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, New York 10003, USA;

Annual Review of Psychology

|September 27, 2018

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Infant motor development is deeply linked to psychological growth. New motor skills enable exploration and learning, highlighting the body, environment, and culture

Keywords:

culture developmental cascade exploration infant locomotion reaching

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Non-Invasive Modulation and Robotic Mapping of Motor Cortex in the Developing Brain

Non-Invasive Modulation and Robotic Mapping of Motor Cortex in the Developing Brain

Published on: July 1, 2019

Area of Science:

Developmental Psychology
Motor Development
Infant Psychology

Background:

Motor and psychological development are often studied in isolation.
Understanding their interconnectedness is crucial for a holistic view of infant development.

Purpose of the Study:

To review key features of infant motor development.
To demonstrate how motor skill acquisition reflects and requires basic psychological functions.
To propose motor development as a model system for studying psychological development.

Main Methods:

Review of existing literature on infant motor development.
Analysis of four key features: embodiment, embeddedness, enculturation, and enabling.
Examination of how bodily changes, environmental variations, and social influences impact motor skills and psychological functions.

Main Results:

Motor development is embodied, embedded, enculturated, and enabling.
Motor skill acquisition is contingent upon and reflective of psychological functions.
Behavioral flexibility in infants is driven by changes in their bodies, environments, and experiences.

Conclusions:

Motor development is integral to psychological development.
Motor development provides an ideal framework for understanding psychological development.
Interdisciplinary approaches are needed to fully grasp infant development.