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Indirect Motor Pathways

Indirect Motor Pathways

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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Updated: Aug 30, 2025

Evaluating Postural Control and Lower-extremity Muscle Activation in Individuals with Chronic Ankle Instability

Evaluating Postural Control and Lower-extremity Muscle Activation in Individuals with Chronic Ankle Instability

Published on: September 18, 2020

Corticospinal Control of a Challenging Ankle Task in Incomplete Spinal Cord Injury.

Adrian Cathomen^1,2,3, Franziska Meier¹, Irina Lerch¹

¹Spinal Cord Injury Center, Balgrist University Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland.

Journal of Neurotrauma

|August 27, 2022

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Individuals with incomplete spinal cord injury (iSCI) show impaired corticospinal modulation, impacting lower extremity control. A novel irregular ankle movement task reveals deficits in motor control and corticospinal drive capacity in iSCI patients.

Keywords:

ankle task corticospinal control electromyography incomplete spinal cord injury transcranial magnetic stimulation wavelet frequency analysis

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Experimental Methods to Study Human Postural Control

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Published on: September 11, 2019

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Motor Control
Spinal Cord Injury Research

Background:

Incomplete spinal cord injury (iSCI) often impairs descending corticospinal tract function, affecting lower extremity movement control.
Previous assessments using simple tasks may not fully capture the modulatory capacity of corticospinal control due to limited fine motor demands.

Purpose of the Study:

To introduce and validate a more challenging, visually guided ankle motor task to assess the modulatory capacity of corticospinal control in individuals with iSCI.
To investigate differences in EMG frequency characteristics and movement precision between individuals with iSCI and controls during regular and irregular ankle movement tasks.

Main Methods:

Nineteen individuals with iSCI and 22 controls performed regular (auditory-guided) and irregular (visually-guided) ankle movement tasks.
Electromyography (EMG) and kinematic data were recorded, with EMG frequency characteristics analyzed using wavelet transformations.
Precision error and EMG frequency shifts (particularly in the 20-60 Hz and >100 Hz bands) were compared between groups and task types.

Main Results:

Control participants showed a shift in EMG intensity from higher to lower frequencies during the irregular task, indicative of modulated corticospinal drive.
Individuals with iSCI exhibited a less pronounced or absent EMG frequency shift, particularly in the more impaired leg.
Precision errors were significantly higher in individuals with iSCI during the irregular task, correlating with reduced EMG frequency shifts and walking performance.

Conclusions:

The irregular ankle movement task effectively reveals deficits in the capacity to modulate corticospinal control following iSCI.
EMG frequency analysis during this task may serve as a sensitive marker for assessing corticospinal integrity and motor control in iSCI.
This task holds promise for early assessment and monitoring throughout rehabilitation for individuals with iSCI.