1. Areas of the Brain Involved in movement
Motor Learning
Areas of the Brain
Involved in movement
PEH 315 Motor Learning

2. Areas of the Brain
By recording the activity of neurons in different brain regions and by studying the effects of lesions in various brain sites, it has been demonstrated that there are important functional distinctions among brain centers.
In the domain of motor control, some centers are involved in relatively low-level aspects of the control of movement and posture, such as the direction and force of single limb movement, whereas others are involved in higher-level aspects, such as planning extended sequences of actions.
PEH 315 Motor Learning

3. Areas of the Brain Cerebellum Basal Ganglia Motor Cortex
Pre-motor Cortex
Supplementary
Parietal Cortex
PEH 315 Motor Learning

4. Cerebellum
Regulation of Muscle Tone – input from muscle spindles, vision, hearing, touch and balance. Damage = flaccid tone
Coordination – ataxia, dysarthria, nystagmus,
Sequencing - palm up, palm down
Timing - agonistic and antagonistic muscle firings
Learning – vestibular occular reflex
PEH 315 Motor Learning

5. Basal Ganglia Contributes to activation & retrieval of movement plans
Scale the amplitude of movements
Movement problems associated with area -
Huntingdon’s Disease – clumsiness, uncontrollable movements, dementia
Parkinson’s Disease – shuffling gait, resting tremors,
initiation of movements
PEH 315 Motor Learning

6. Premotor Cortex Proximal muscles Role in orienting body
Readying postural for forthcoming movements
Help select movement trajectories
PEH 315 Motor Learning

7. Motor Cortex Localization of Brain function
Trigger center rather than planning
Force and direction
Long-loop Reflexes
PEH 315 Motor Learning

8. Pre-motor cortex Proximal muscles – trunk & shoulders
Orienting the body and readying the postural muscles for forthcoming movements
Selected movement trajectories
PEH 315 Motor Learning

9. Supplementary MC
Planning & Production of Complex sequences of movement – bimanual coordination
Blood flow to SMC even when imagined
Activity seen 1 sec before movement begins
Suggests planning
PEH 315 Motor Learning

10. Parietal Cortex Spatial attention – drawing diagrams
(Spatial Facility)
Code spatially relevant behavioral intentions
Apraxia
Ideational - pantomine
Ideomotor - imitate
PEH 315 Motor Learning