Motor system

Spinal cord
Components of spinal motor control
system

• Spinal neurons
• Motor unit
• Muscle spindles
• Golgi tendon organs
 Upper motor neuron
of extrapyramidal tract Upper motor
Dorsal root neuron of
ganglion cell corticospinal tract

α-motor neuron in
the spinal cord

Neuro muscular
junction

α-mn is directly
Muscle responsible for
spindle generation of
force by muscle muscle
Golgi Tendon organ
50 muscles of the

Figure 5.28
arm innervated
from spinal
segments C3-T1
Page 173
Cervical Cervical
cord nerves Vertebrae
Muscles of the leg
innervated from
spinal segments
L1-S3
Thoracic
Thoracic nerves
cord

Lumbar
Lumbar nerves Cauda
cord equina

Sacral
Sacral nerves
cord
Coccygeal
nerve
 Cell body of White matter Gray matter
efferent neuron
Interneuron

Cell body of
afferent neuron Dorsal root

Dorsal root
Efferent fiber ganglion

From receptors

To effectors

Ventral root

Spinal nerve
Figure 5.29
Page 174
 Figure 5.31 Page 176

Dorsal horn (cell bodies of interneurons

on which afferent neurons terminate)

Central Lateral horn (cell bodies of autonomic

canal efferent nerve fibers)

Ventral horn (cell bodies of somatic

efferent neurons)
Motor neuron pool of a muscle.
• Those motor neurons innervating a single
muscle
• The motor neuron pools are segregated into
longitudinal columns extending through two to
four spinal segments.
• The longitudinal orientation of motor neurons
and their dendrites matches that of primary
afferent terminals in that zone.
• Thus impulses in a given afferent axon tend to
be distributed to motor neurons innervating the
same muscle or muscles with similar function.
 Figure 8.15
Page 269

Spinal cord

= Motor unit 1
A motor unit is one motor
= Motor unit 2
neuron and the muscle
= Motor unit 3 fibers it innervates
 The size principle: the orderly
recruitment of motor units
• The first motor units to be activated are those
with smallest motor axons;
– these motor units generate the smallest contractile
forces
– and allow the initial contraction to be finely graded.
• As more motor units are recruited,
– the alpha motor neurons with progressively larger
axons become involved
– and generate progressively larger amounts of tension
Motor unit and motor neuron pool
 Dorsal root

Dorsal root
ganglion

Ventral root

Figure 5.29
Page 174
Whole muscle tension depends on 
• the size of the muscle, 
• the extent of motor unit recruitment,
• the size of each motor unit.

• The number of muscle fibers varies among 
different motor units.
– Muscles performing refined, delicate movements 
have few muscle fibers per motor unit. 
– Muscles performing coarse, controlled movements 
have a large number of fibers per motor unit.
– The asynchronous recruitment of motor units 
delays or prevents muscle fatigue.
• One group of motor neuron pools is
located in the medial part of the ventral
horn, and the other much larger group lies
more laterally.
 Somatotopic organization of spinal cord motor neuron

trunk extremities

α-mn: the flexors

final common
pathway

extensor
The ventral root s
 Functional rule
• The motor neurons located medially project to
axial muscles (muscles of the neck and back):
those located more laterally project to limb
muscles (arms and legs).
• Within the lateral group the most medial motor
neuron pools tend to innervate the muscles of
the shoulder and pelvic girdles, while motor
neurons located more laterally project to distal
muscles of the extremities and digits.
• In addition the motor neurons innervating the
extensor muscles tend to lie ventral to those
innervating flexors.
 Descending tracts

Dorsal surface

Lateral corticospinal

Gray matter Rubrospinal

Ventral corticospinal

Vestibulospinal
Ventral surface

Figure 5.30 (1)

Page 174
 Motor neurons
• Alpha motor neuron
– Thick myelinated fast conducting axons
– Motor end plate of extrafusal skeletal muscle
fibers
• Gamma motor neuron
– Thin myelinated slower conducting axons
– Supply the intrafusal fibers of Muscle spindles
in skeletal muscles
γ-static
γ-dynamic
 Spinal interneurons
• Points of convergence for
– most of the input of the brain descending
tracts
– Sensory afferents & collaterals of LMN axons
• Intersegmental; same side of spinal cord
• Commissural: cross midline
 Spinal reflexes
• Contribute to
• Muscle tone
• Body posture
• Locomotion
 Muscle spindles
• Lie parallel to regular muscle fibers
• contain nuclear bag and nuclear chain
intrafusal muscle fibers.
 Capsule

Alpha motor
neuron axon Intrafusal (spindle)
muscle fibers

Gamma motor
neuron axon Contractile end portions
of intrafusal fiber

Noncontractile
Secondary (flower-spray) central portion
endings of afferent of intrafusal
fibers fiber

Primary (annulospiral)
Extrafusal (“ordinary”) endings of afferent fibers
muscle fibers
 Muscle spindles
• Can be stimulated by 2 ways
• Stretching the entire muscle
• Causing contraction of intrafusal fibers
while extrafusal fibers remain at the same
length.
 Muscle spindles
• Group Ia afferent fibers form primary
endings on nuclear bag and chain fibers,
• Group II fibers form secondary endings on
nuclear chain fibers.
• Dynamic motor axons end on nuclear bag
fibers and static motor axons on nuclear
chain fibers.
 Muscle spindles
• Primary endings demonstrate both static
and dynamic responses, which signal
muscle length and rate of change in
muscle length.
• Secondary endings demonstrate only
static responses and signal only muscle
length.
• Motor neurons cause muscle spindles to
shorten, which prevents the unloading
effect of muscle contraction.
 Golgi tendon organs
• Located in the tendons of muscles and are
arranged in series.
• They are supplied by group Ib afferent
fibers and are excited both by stretch and
by contraction of the muscle (very
sensitive to changes in muscle tension)
 Extrafusal
skeletal
muscle fiber

Spinal
cord
Intrafusal
muscle
spindle fiber

Afferent input from sensory endings of muscle spindle fiber

Alpha motor neuron output to regular skeletal-muscle fiber
Stretch reflex pathway
γ motor-neuron output to contractile end portions of spindle fiber
Descending pathways coactivating α and γ motor neurons

Figure 8.26 (1)

Page 287
Relaxed muscle; spindle Contracted muscle in Contracted muscle in
fiber sensitive to stretch hypothetical situation of normal situation of
of muscle no spindle coactivation; spindle coactivation;
slackened spindle fiber contracted spindle fiber
not sensitive to stretch sensitive to stretch of
of muscle muscle
• Nuclear bag fibers • Nuclear chain fibers
• Ia fibers • Ia fibers
• Show a dynamic • Show a Static
response: response
– Discharge most rapidly – Discharge at an
while the muscle is increased rate
being stretched & less throughout the period
rapidly during when a muscle is
sustained contraction stretched
• Signal the amount of
displacement

Primary endings Signal Velocity and

amount of change in muscle length
 Alpha-gamma linkage
 Enhancement of voluntary muscle
contraction by co-activation of gamma and
alpha motor neurons
 The stretch reflex includes
• a monosynaptic excitatory pathway from
group Ia (and II) muscle spindle afferent
fibers to a motor neurons that supply the
same and synergistic muscles and
• a disynaptic inhibitory pathway to
antagonistic motor neurons.
 Myotatic stretch reflex
• The simplest reflex
• Monosynaptic
• Physiological significance:
– Resting muscle tone and thus A key reflex in
maintenance of posture
 The tonic stretch reflex
• Physiological significance: Resting muscle
tone
– Judged by the resistance that a joint offers to
bending
– Receptors: Ia & II from muscle spindle
– Triggered by the static responses of group Ia
and II afferents.
– Any slight extension or flexion (during
standing) will elicit a tonic stretch reflex in
muscles required to oppose the movement,
thus helping an individual to stand upright.
 Phasic stretch reflex
• Physiological significance:
• Receptors: Ia from muscle spindle
• Triggered by the dynamic responses of
group Ia fibers

• Enhancement of voluntary muscle

contraction by co-activation of gamma and
alpha motor neurons
 Myotatic stretch reflex
• Clinical significance in diagnosis of
diseases
– tendon jerks
– muscle tone
Muscle stretch reflex
 Extensor muscle of knee Muscle
(quadriceps femoris) spindle

Patellar
tendon
Alpha motor
neuron

Figure 8.27
Page 288
 Inverse stretch reflex
• Disynaptic (inhibitory interneuron+ α-mn )
• Inhibition of α-mn of same muscle
• Receptor: Golgi tendon organ (in series with
muscle fibers)
• Stimulus: increase in muscle tension by
– excessive stretch
– excessive active muscle contraction
• Result: relaxation (sudden stop in contraction)
• Safety:
– regulates muscle tension
– protects the tendon from tearing
 Withdrawal reflex
• Polysynaptic
• Protective
• Painful stimulation of skin, subcutaneous
tissue or muscle
• Stimulation of flexorscontraction
• Reciprocal innervation
• Simultaneous inhibition of antagonists
relaxation
 = Inhibitory interneuron Components of a

Figure 5.33 = Excitatory interneuron

= Synapse
reflex arc

Receptor
= Inhibits
Page 178 = Stimulates Afferent pathway
Integrating center
Efferent pathway
Effector organs
Thermal
pain receptor
in finger
Ascending pathway
to brain
Afferent
Pathway

Stimulus

Biceps Efferent pathway

(flexor) Integrating center
contracts Triceps (spinal cord)
(extensor)
Hand relaxes
withdrawn
Effector
organs
Response
 Crossed extensor reflex
• Supporting reflex, serves to maintain
posture
• Polysynaptic
• Irradiation of stimulation
• Reciprocal innervation

• Flexion and withdrawal of the painfully

stimulated limb
• + extension of the other limb
 Figure 5.34
Page 179

Afferent
pathway Efferent
pathway
Efferent
pathway Integrating center
Flexor (spinal cord)
Extensor Extensor
muscle Flexor
muscle muscle
contracts muscle
relaxes contracts
relaxes
Pain
Injured extremity
receptor
(effector organ)
in heel
Response
Response
Stimulus
Opposite extremity
(effector organ)
 Upper motor
Dorsal root neuron of
ganglion cell Interneuron in corticospinal tract
the spinal cord

S Y α-motor neuron in
the spinal cord

Effector

W
U
X V
Receptor
Z
T