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Related Concept Videos

Indirect Motor Pathways01:22

Indirect Motor Pathways

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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.
The vestibulospinal tract originates in the vestibular nuclei of the brainstem. The vestibular system detects changes in...
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Spinal Nerves: Plexus II01:21

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The plexuses of the lower body include the lumbar, sacral, and coccygeal plexuses, which innervate the abdomen, pelvis, legs, and coccygeal region. These plexuses control the transmission of sensory information and coordinate motor functions of the lower body.
The Lumbar Plexus
The lumbar plexus is situated within the lumbar region of the back and is primarily formed by the first four lumbar spinal nerves (L1 to L4). This plexus extends its branches into several nerves, including the...
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Somatic Spinal Reflexes01:22

Somatic Spinal Reflexes

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Somatic spinal reflexes are rapid, involuntary muscular responses to external stimuli that involve the somatic musculature and the spinal cord.
One of the most well-known somatic spinal reflexes is the stretch reflex, which is activated by the sudden stretching of a muscle. This reflex involves the activation of specialized sensory receptors called muscle spindles, which are located in the muscle tissue and detect changes in the length and speed of muscle contractions. When a muscle is suddenly...
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Direct Motor Pathways01:11

Direct Motor Pathways

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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.
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...
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Spinal Cord: Cross-sectional Anatomy01:16

Spinal Cord: Cross-sectional Anatomy

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The cross-sectional anatomy of the spinal cord offers a detailed view of its complex structure and function within the central nervous system. At the core of the spinal cord lies the gray matter, characterized by its butterfly or "H"-shaped appearance in cross-section. This central region is enveloped by white matter, with the overall structure divided into symmetrical halves by the dorsal median sulcus and the ventral median fissure.
Gray Matter and its Components
Central to the gray matter is...
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Muscles that Move the Thigh01:20

Muscles that Move the Thigh

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The thigh's motion is primarily governed by muscles originating in the pelvic girdle and inserted into the femur. One crucial muscle, the iliopsoas, is a combination of the psoas major and the iliacus muscles, sharing a common insertion point on the lesser trochanter of the femur.
Three other significant muscles are the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, and gluteus minimus. The gluteus maximus originates from the posterior surface of the ilium, sacrum, and coccyx, and the thoracolumbar...
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Updated: Dec 25, 2025

Extracellularly Identifying Motor Neurons for a Muscle Motor Pool in Aplysia californica
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Spinal Interneurons With Dual Axon Projections to Knee-Extensor and Hip-Extensor Motor Pools.

Khuong H Nguyen1, Thomas E Scheurich1, Tingting Gu1

  • 1Department of Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, United States.

Frontiers in Neural Circuits
|April 1, 2020
PubMed
Summary

Researchers identified dual-projecting spinal interneurons in turtles that may help control limb movements. These neurons connect to both knee and hip muscles, contributing to specific scratching synergies and potentially other vertebrate motor control.

Keywords:
hip extensorknee extensorpropriospinalretrograde labelingsynergy

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Motor Control
  • Spinal Cord Physiology

Background:

  • The central nervous system (CNS) simplifies limb movement control through muscle synergies.
  • Spinal cord interneurons activating these synergies by exciting motoneurons are poorly understood.
  • The turtle spinal cord generates complex motor patterns like swimming and scratching without brain input.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To test the hypothesis that specific spinal interneurons project to motoneurons controlling different muscles to generate distinct limb movement synergies.
  • To investigate the role of dual-projecting interneurons in generating knee-hip synergies during scratching.

Main Methods:

  • Injected fluorescent retrograde tracers into knee-extensor and hip-extensor motoneuron regions in turtle spinal cords.
  • Identified and characterized interneurons projecting to both motoneuron pools (dual-projecting interneurons).
  • Analyzed the distribution of these dual-projecting interneurons within the spinal cord.

Main Results:

  • Found double-labeled interneurons projecting to both knee-extensor and hip-extensor motoneuron pools.
  • These dual-projecting interneurons were widely distributed in the spinal cord.
  • Dual-projecting interneurons constituted a small percentage (approx. 1%) of total projecting interneurons.

Conclusions:

  • The existence of dual-projecting interneurons supports their role in generating specific knee-hip synergies, such as for pocket scratching.
  • These interneurons are likely one of several factors contributing to synergy generation.
  • Evidence suggests similar interneurons contribute to limb motor control in other vertebrates.