title: Overview of neurophysiology of movement control.
abstract: The motoneuronal outputs from cortex and spinal cord have quite different patterns of organisation. The cortex consists of a highly intermixed mosaic of small output zones whereas the motoneurones in the cord are located in clearly defined columns of cells, that all project to the same muscle. I describe the pattern of innervation between cortex and cord, indicate the importance of cortical plasticity in allowing flexible control of spinal circuits, and show how these inputs interact. Finally I discuss some of the new methods of stimulating descending motor pathways in humans.
authors.affiliation: UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK. j.rothwell@ucl.ac.uk
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Rothwell
mesh_terms: D000344:Afferent Pathways / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D004525:Efferent Pathways / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D009044:Motor Cortex / Q000502:physiology; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D009424:Nervous System Physiological Phenomena; D009482:Neurophysiology; D011712:Pyramidal Tracts / Q000502:physiology; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000502:physiology