Vision No.5

Motor Cortex and Learning

• Betz cells connect to the spinal cord and the red nucleus
• The primary motor cortex (Pmd) is responsible for transmitting signals to the spinal cord and peripheral nervous system to control voluntary movements
• The primary motor cortex is involved in the planning, execution, and regulation of voluntary movements
• The frontal eye fields send signals to the superior colliculus, the pontine nuclei, and the spinal cord to control eye movements
• In associative long-term potentiation (LTP), N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors and alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) receptors are generated more
• The premotor cortex (Pmv) is involved in visuomotor control, correcting false movements
• The supplementary motor area (SMA) proper is involved in the planning and coordination of complex movements
• Long-term potentiation (LTP) is a major part of motor learning, allowing the strengthening of neural connections based on experience
• Mirror neurons are important for learning through observation, as they fire both when an individual performs an action and when they observe someone else performing the same action
• Somatotopic representation refers to the point-to-point correspondence of an area of the body to a specific part of the central nervous system, allowing for precise motor control and sensation