Essays on Motor Cortex

Summary: In the article titled, “Abnormal Cortex Plasticity in Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy”, the authors investigate the role of defective motor plasticity in the pathogenesis of Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy (Strigaro et al.). Prior to this study, JME was linked to motor cortex hyper-excitability and to the abnormal function of thalamic networks. This study, identifies a new mechanism that can cause JME, a common form of generalized epilepsy seen in children. The motor cortex plasticity was studied using an interesting technique called the Paired Associated Stimulation (PAS). The details of this technique are discussed in the methodology section. The role of ...

Summary of the article

This article is about a study that was conducted to check the abnormal short latency synaptic plasticity in the motor cortex of subjects with Becker muscle dystrophy (BMD). Before the research could take place, the author indicates that the assessment of the cortical function especially with patients with BMD has brought about contradicting results. The researchers used the repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) so as to explore the excitability of the motor cortex. Therefore, the participants of the study were thirteen patients suffering from Becker Muscle dystrophy. Out of the thirteen patients, six of them are stated to have ...

Motor learning is one of the subdisciplines of motor behavior, and its main aim is to understand how people acquire new motor skills. A lot of studies conducted by motor behaviorist research correct practice as one of the most important variables in learning motor skills, and one of the principles in motor learning states that correct practice improves performance and facilitates motor learning. However, new studies in the field were made possible by technology, and a lot of modern studies aim at researching the underlying mechanisms that make learning possible and the non-invasive neurological interventions that can be applied to ...

Parkinson’s disease was first described by James Parkinson in 1817 as the “shaking palsy”. A person with Parkinson’s disease suffers from continuous shaking tremors while they are at rest, a phenomenon known as “pill rolling” (Jankovic, 2008). There are several public figures that live with Parkinson’s disease including the actor Michael J. Fox, the boxer Muhammad Ali, and former Attorney General Janet Reno. While tremendous research efforts have uncovered many important aspects of this disease, it is still unclear what determines the onset of this disease. The majority of Parkinson disease cases are idiopathic, meaning that there ...

Mind in Motion by Miguel A. L. Nicolelis

Introduction

The practical application of the knowledge that is, technology continues to dominate throughout the world. Actually this is a systematic treatment of science and art where this science in its motivation is circular. The technological advances range from laptops and cell phones to enormous macro computers that are used in most delicate and detrimental of military operations. The other area where technological advancements have been experienced in recent times is in virtual or mechanically artificial agent which is an electro mechanical machine guided by electronic circuitry or a computer program. What I ...

Fatigue

Fatigue is a common condition suffered by individuals undergoing chronic illness. The two main factors responsible for fatigue include central and peripheral mechanisms. Central mechanisms largely arise from proximal events such as neuromuscular junction, which is subdivided into supraspinal or spinal. Peripheral fatigue is caused by muscle contraction activities and includes excitation contraction or muscle bioenergetics. The discussion covers some mechanisms involved in fatigue experiences (Gandevia, 1994).

Voluntary muscle activation

This mechanism associated with central fatigue, accounts for about 15% to 20% of the usual and normal fatigue during continuous or sustained fatigue contraction. The voluntary drive of the muscle incurs difference in ...

Cognitive Functions of the Brain

The phrase ‘Cognitive function’ in its basic form implies the mental processes of acquiring knowledge. The cognitive functions include reasoning, perception, intuition, creativity, predictable behavior, social interaction with others and problem solving among others. According to Baars and Gage (2010), part of the brain majorly concerned with cognitive function is the cerebrum cortex. However, in as much as we can say that this is part of the brain concerned with the cognitive functions, some of which mentioned above, the brain is holistic in nature (Baars & Gage, 2010). This implies that one part of the brain (for instance the cerebrum) ...

The brain regulates the choice of a person to be physically active. Stimuli from the environment and from the tissues excite receptors and nerves which in turn excite the muscles. The central nervous system has three general areas that are associated with the complexity of the movement and the familiarity of the various stimuli. The areas include the spinal cord which handles simple reflex actions, the lower brain which organizes more complex responses while the cerebral cortex controls the most complicated responses and stores general motor programs. The spinal cord consists of two-way tracks of nerve fibers which carries both ...