Biological Psychology - Chapter 8: Movement

Front 1

Moving a leg or arm back and forth requires opposing sets of muscles called what?

Back 1

Antagonistic muscles

Front 2

At high temperatures, a fish relies mostly on what type of muscle?

Back 2

Red muscle

Front 3

What is the name of the rapid eye movement occurring when a person moves his or her eyes from one focus point to another?

Back 3

Saccades

Front 4

What sructure is composed of the 'caudate nucleus', 'putamen', and 'globus pallidus'?

Back 4

The Basal Ganglia

Front 5

What is L-Dopa?

Back 5

L-Dopa: A precursor to dopamine. Commonly used as a treatment for Parkinson's disease.

Front 6

What are the three categories of Vertebrate muscle?

Back 6

The Three Categories of Muscle:
- Smooth muscles (control movements of internal organs)
- Skeletal or Striated muscles (Control movement of body in relationship to the environment)
- Cardiac muscles (heart muscles)

Front 7

What are "neuromuscular junctions?"

Back 7

Neuromuscular Junction: A synapse between a motor neuron axon and muscle fiber.

Front 8

What are the symptoms and cause of "myasthenia gravis?"

Back 8

Myasthenia Gravis: An autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks acetylcholine receptors.
Symptoms: Progressive weakness and rapid fatigue of skeletal muscles.

Front 9

What are two kinds of treatment for "myasthenia gravis?"

Back 9

Treatment for Myasthenia Gravis:
- Immune system suppressants.
- Drugs that inhibit acetylcholinesterase (an enzyme which breaks down "Ach" at the synapse).

Front 10

What are the types and functions of skeletal muscles in fish?

Back 10

Skeletal Muscles in Fish:
1. - Red muscles: Produce slow movements almost always without fatigue.
2. - White muscles: Produce fast movements but fatigue quickly.
3. - Pink muscles: Produce responses intermediate between red muscles and white muscles.

Front 11

What is the difference between "fast-twitch fibers" and "slow-twitch fibers?"

Back 11

Fast-Twitch Fibers: Anaerobic (use reactions that do not require oxygen) and produce fast contractions but fatigue rapidly.
Slow-Twitch Fibers: Aerobic (require oxygen during movement) and produce less vigorous contractions without fatiguing.

Front 12

What is "proprioceptor?"

Back 12

Proprieceptor: A receptor that is sensitive to the position or movement of a part of the body. Muscle proprioceptors detect the strectch and tension of a muscle.

Front 13

What is a "stretch reflex?"

Back 13

Stretch Reflex: After a muscle is stretched, the spinal cord sends a signal to contract that muscle.

Front 14

What is a "muscle spindle?"

Back 14

Muscle Spindle: A kind of proprioceptor; when stretched, its sensory nerve sends a message to ta motor neuron in the spinal cord, which sends a message back to the muscles surrounding the spindle, causing a contraction.

Front 15

What is a "Golgi tendon organ?"

Back 15

Golgi Tendon Organ: Located in the tendons at opposite ends of muscles, these proprioceptors inhibit muscle contraction when it is too intense.

Front 16

What is a "reflex?"

Back 16

Reflex: A consistent automatic reponse to a stimulus which is generally involuntary.

Front 17

What is "ballistic movement?"

Back 17

Ballistic Movement: Once initiated, this movement cannot be altered or corrected (e.g. stretch reflex; dilation of the pupil).

Front 18

What is a "motor program?"

Back 18

Motor Programs: Fixed sequence of movements; could be produced by a central pattern generator or another neural mechanism. (e.g. mouse grooming itself, skilled musicians playing a piece, or a gymnast's routine).

Front 19

What are "central pattern generators?"

Back 19

Central Pattern Generators: Neural mechanisms that generate rythmic patterns of motor output. (e.g. wings flapping in birds, fin movements in fish).

Front 20

How is the "primary motor cortex" involved in movement?

Back 20

The Primary Motor Cortex: Sends messages to the medulla and spinal cord, which sends its axons to the muscles.

Front 21

How is the "posterior parietal cortex" involved in movement?

Back 21

The Posterior Parietal Cortex: Keeps track of the position of the body relative to the world. People with damage to the posterior parietal cortex have difficulty converting their visual experiences into actions.

Front 22

How is the "primary somatosensory cortex" involved in movement?

Back 22

The Primary Somatosensory Cortex: Sends sensory information to the primary motor cortex.

Front 23

How is the "prefrontal cortex" involved in movement?

Back 23

Prefrontal Cortex: Responds to lights, noises, and other sensory signals that lead to movement. Calculates predictable outcomes of actions plans movement according to those outcomes.

Front 24

How is the "premotor cortex" involved in movement?

Back 24

Premotor Cortex: Mainly involved in preparations for a movement rather than the movement itslef. Integrates information about position and posture of the body and organizes the direction of the movement in space.

Front 25

How is the "supplementary motor cortex" involved in movement?

Back 25

Supplementary Motor Cortex: Most active while preparing for a rapid series of movements (e.g. pushing, pulling and turning a knob or stick)

Front 26

What is a "readiness potential?"

Back 26

A rediness potential is a particular type of activity in the motor cortex that occurs before any type of voluntary movement.
- Begins at least 500 ms before the movement itself.
- Implies that we become conscious of the decision to move after the process has already begun.

Front 27

What are "mirror neurons?"

Back 27

Mirror Neurons: Neurons that are active during both preparation of a movement and while wathcing someone else perform a similar movement.

Front 28

What is the role of the "lateral corticospinal tract" in movement?

Back 28

Lateral Corticospinal Tract: Axons from the primary motor cortex and from the red nucleus of the midbrain synapse in the spinal cord. In the medulla lie the pyramids where the dorsolateral tract crosses to the opposite side of the spinal cord. This tract controls movements of the distal limbs (e.g. hands, fingers, and toes).

Front 29

What is the role of the "medial coticospinal tract" in movement?

Back 29

Medial Corticospinal Tract: Axons from both primary and supplementary motor cortices, as well as from the midbrain tectum, reticular formation and the vestibular nucleus; this tract is largely responsible for neck, shoulder, and trunk movements. Enables movements such as walking, turning, bending, standing up, and sitting down.

Front 30

What is the role of the "cerebellum" in movement?

Back 30

Cerebellum (Latin for "little brain"): Involved in motor control and learned motor behavior, cerebellar damage or alcohol intoxication may lead to deficits in rapid ballistic movements requiring aim and timing. (examples: clapping hands, speaking, writing, etc.)

Front 31

What are some possible effects of "cerebellar dysfunction?"

Back 31

Cerebellar Dysfunction:
- Disequilibrium
- Muscle tone distrubance
- Movement disorders
- Speech deficits
- Cerebellar Nystagmus (inability to fixate on an object)

Front 32

What are the two main classes of "dyskinesias?"

Back 32

Dyskenisias:
- Hyperkinetic (characterized by increased motor activity)
- Hypokinetic (characterized by decreased movement)

Front 33

What is "Parkinson's disease?"

Back 33

Parkinson's Disease (PD): Symptoms include rigidity, resting tremor, slow movements and difficulty initiating physical activity.
- - The immediate cause of PD is the gradual progressice death of neurons in the "substantia nigra" and the "amygdala".
- - - - PD probably results from a mixture of causes. A gene is responsible for many cases of early onset PD; exposure to toxins can increase risk; however, most causes of PD are unknown at the present time.

Front 34

What is "Huntington's disease?"

Back 34

Huntington's Disease (HD); (also known as Huntington chorea): Symptoms include twitches, tremors, and writhing movements.
- - Brain degeneration is especially severe in the caudate nucleus, putamen, and the globus pallidus (aka throughout the basal ganglia).
- - - Has a variety of mental side effects.
- - - - - HD is caused by an aurosomal dominant gene on the chromosome #4. The gene can be identified by a presymptomatic test (before the onset of symptoms) with almost 100% accuracy. The higher the number of consecutive repeats of the combvination C-A-G, the more certain and earlier the person is to develop the disease.