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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...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 23, 2025

Compensatory Limb Use and Behavioral Assessment of Motor Skill Learning Following Sensorimotor Cortex Injury in a Mouse Model of Ischemic Stroke

Compensatory Limb Use and Behavioral Assessment of Motor Skill Learning Following Sensorimotor Cortex Injury in a Mouse Model of Ischemic Stroke

Published on: July 10, 2014

Pathway-Specific Mediation Effect Between Structure, Function, and Motor Impairment After Subcortical Stroke.

Qiurong Yu¹, Dazhi Yin¹, Marcus Kaiser¹

¹From the Shanghai Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance (Q.Y., G.X., M.G., F.L., J.L., M.F.), School of Physics and Electronic Science, East China Normal University; Shanghai Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics (Ministry of Education) (D.Y.), School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University; Shanghai Changning Mental Health Center (D.Y.); Precision Imaging Beacon (M.K.), School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, United Kingdom; and School of Medicine (M.K.), Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China.

|October 28, 2022

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Subcortical stroke impacts motor function by altering specific brain pathways. This study identifies key structural and functional connections, particularly involving the dorsal premotor cortex, that influence motor recovery after stroke.

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Last Updated: Aug 23, 2025

Compensatory Limb Use and Behavioral Assessment of Motor Skill Learning Following Sensorimotor Cortex Injury in a Mouse Model of Ischemic Stroke

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Determining the Functional Status of the Corticospinal Tract Within One Week of Stroke

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Published on: February 22, 2020

Measuring and Manipulating Functionally Specific Neural Pathways in the Human Motor System with Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

Measuring and Manipulating Functionally Specific Neural Pathways in the Human Motor System with Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

Published on: February 23, 2020

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Neurology
Medical Imaging

Background:

Focal subcortical stroke can lead to significant motor impairments.
Understanding the relationship between structural damage and functional deficits is crucial for effective rehabilitation.
Pathway-specific alterations following stroke remain incompletely understood.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the pathway-specific relationship between structural and functional brain changes after subcortical stroke.
To determine the causal influence of these pathway alterations on clinical motor symptoms.
To identify potential therapeutic targets for motor recovery.

Main Methods:

Retrospective, cross-sectional study of patients with chronic subcortical stroke and moderate-severe motor impairment.
Utilized resting-state functional MRI (fMRI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI).
Performed association analyses between corticospinal tracts (CSTs), corpus callosum (CC) sections, and functional connectivity (FC), followed by mediation analysis.

Main Results:

Identified 9 structurally and functionally coupled pathways originating from sensorimotor areas (M1, PMd, S1).
Found covariation between functional connectivity of motor areas and secondary degeneration of CC sections.
Significant mediation effects of FC (PMd-cerebellum, interhemispheric PMd FC) on motor impairment were observed, linked to CST and CC damage.

Conclusions:

Structural and functional pathway alterations causally influence motor impairment post-subcortical stroke.
Findings support the dorsal premotor cortex (PMd) as a critical neuromodulation target.
The cerebellum is suggested as a potential therapeutic target for stroke rehabilitation.