Module 8.2

Speaking, piano playing, athletic skills, and other rapid movements would be most impaired by damage to which structure?

Cerebellum

Most of the axons of the pyramidal tract go to which side of the body?

Contralateral

Which of the following would most likely happen with damage to the prefrontal cortex?

Poorly planned movements

Which widely branching cells are responsible for all of the output from the cerebellar cortex to the nuclei of the cerebellum?

Purkinje cells

After damage to the cerebellar cortex, an individual has trouble with which part of the finger-to-nose test?

The initial rapid movement to the nose

Movements near the midline of the body, such as bending and turning of the trunk, are controlled by which motor system?

Ventromedial tract

Which behaviors would most likely be impaired by damage to the dorsolateral tract?

Writing a check

Longer stimulation (1/2 sec) of the arm region of a monkey's motor cortex results in:

a fixed outcome using different muscle movements depending on the initial position of the arm.

Dorsolateral tract axons are responsible for movements in the:

arms, hands, and toes.

Children with ____ were found to have less activity in the brain areas believed to contain mirror neurons.

autism

The structure composed of the caudate nucleus, putamen, and globus pallidus is the:

basal ganglia.

With experience, the motor skills required to drive a car become more automatic over time mostly because of changes in the:

basal ganglia.

Studies on conscious decisions regarding voluntary movements suggest that:

brain activity for the movement begins before we are conscious of our decision.

The basal ganglia work together to initiate movement by:

ceasing to inhibit movement.

If you have trouble with rapid, ballistic movement sequences that require accurate timing, you probably have suffered damage to the:

cerebellum.

The cerebellum appears to be critical for:

certain aspects of attention.

The number of Purkinje cells activated determines the ____ of the resulting movement.

duration

The supplementary motor cortex becomes active:

during the second or two prior to a movement.

People with damage to the parietal cortex appear to lack ____ related to voluntary movements.

feelings of intention

Damage to one side of the dorsolateral tract below the level of the medulla would most likely affect:

fine motor control on the same side of the body.

People with posterior parietal damage:

have trouble converting vision into action.

The nuclei of the cerebellum (as opposed to the cerebellar cortex) are most important in:

holding a finger in a steady position.

The symptoms of cerebellar damage resemble those of:

intoxication

The premotor cortex:

is active during preparations for a movement and less active during movement itself.

The posterior parietal cortex:

keeps track of the position of the body relative to the world.

Watching another person shoot a basketball is most likely to activate ____ neurons in the brain of the person who is watching.

mirror

Very brief electrical stimulation of the motor cortex results in:

muscle twitching.

The cerebellum is most important for any process that requires:

precise timing.

The motor cortex produces a kind of activity called a(n) ____ before any voluntary movement.

readiness potential

The prefrontal cortex:

responds to lights, noises, and other signals for a movement.

What is the name of the rapid eye movement occurring when a person moves his or her eyes from one focus point to another?

saccade

In order to elicit movement, the motor cortex:

sends axons to the brainstem and spinal cord.

A quick typist would rely heavily on the ____ cortex to organize smooth sequences of finger movements.

supplementary motor

Cerebellum is to ____ as basal ganglia are to ____.

timing; voluntary movements

The tract that includes many axons from the primary motor cortex, the reticular formation, and the vestibular nucleus is the:

ventromedial tract.