Basal Ganglia

Walking is assisted by the brain, spinal cord, muscles, reflexes and receptors. The act of walking begins from brain and spinal cord which is the planning on how to walk. More precisely, it starts from the cerebral cortex. Cerebral cortex is the region of decision-making and it initiates voluntary response, in this case, the act of walking. Basal ganglia are also responsible for voluntary locomotion. It requires the knowledge of the body’s position in space (where am I walking to) and what movement should be made (should I walk) and the ability to hold the plan in memory long enough to carry it out. Cerebellum plays an important role in motor control. It does not initiate movement but it helps in precision, coordination and accurate timing …show more content…
They are processed in spinal cord. The reflex movements are ultimately involved for the action of muscles and thus are responsible for the movement of the body parts while walking. Postural reflexes are responsible for the maintenance of the body posture and they ensure that the body remains in upright and aligned positon during walking. Postural reflexes which are integrated in the brain stem, also needs the sensory input from visual and vestibular (auditory) sensory systems in order to know where you are walking to. Voluntary movements is associated with consciousness and will. They involve integration at the cerebral cortex and they can be initiated at will without external stimuli. All areas of CNS are involved in this process. The information flows from the motor area in frontal lobe through brainstem and spinal cord to the motoneurons. Rhythmic movements occur in cycle of similar movements such as reflex and voluntary movements. This locomotion is initiated and terminated by input from the cerebral cortex. Feedforward reflexes allows the body to prepare to …show more content…
The crossed extensor reflex is the one that helps to maintain balance. In other words, while one foot is lifted, the other foot stays on the ground, results in balancing the body while walking. Skeletal muscles act on the bones and this helps in the locomotion of the body or walking. Walking occurs with the help of joints and contraction of muscles. Proprioceptors are present in the skeletal muscles, tendons and in the fibrous capsules of joints. They help in walking by sensing the relative position of the neighboring parts of the body and the strength of the effort involved in walking. The brain collects the information from proprioceptors and helps in positioning the body, its movement and acceleration of the body while walking. Joint receptors are the sensory receptors present in joint capsules and ligaments associated with these capsules. They transfer the information of joint position and proprioceptors locomotion to the CNS. This is important for the coordination of action of the relevant muscles. Golgi tendon organs are at the junction of the tendons and muscle fibers. They sense change in muscle tension. It is a proprioceptive sensory receptor. They are involved in the cerebral regulation of movement. Muscle spindles convey the length information to the CNS with the help of sensory neurons. This