2. The Walking Principal Project-
Locomotion and the nervous system
Normal Locomotor Motion of our Daily Life-
Simple Walking
3. Nervous system
The system of cells,
tissues, and organs
that regulates the
body's responses to
internal and externalinternal and external
stimuli.
4. Parts of Nervous system
The nervous system consists of two main parts: the central nervous system and the peripheral
nervous system:
The central nervous system is made up of the brain and spinal cord.
The PNS peripheral nervous system is made up of the nerve fibers that branch off from the
spinal cord and extend to all parts of the body, including the neck and arms, torso, legs, skeletal
muscles and internal organs.
The brain sends messages through the spinal cord and nerves of the peripheral nervous system
to control the movement of the muscles and the function of internal organs.
Parts of Nervous system
5. Neuron
The basic working unit of the nervous
system is a cell called a neuron. The
human brain contains about 100 billion
neurons. A neuron consists of a cell
body containing the nucleus, and
special extensions called axons and
dendrites.
The peripheral nervous system, or PNS,
consists of the nerves and ganglia
outside of the brain and spinal cord.outside of the brain and spinal cord.
The main function of the PNS is to
connect the central nervous system
(CNS) to the limbs and organs. The
peripheral nervous system is divided
into the somatic nervous system –
receives sensory information from skin,
joints and muscle and the autonomic
nervous system- receives sensory
information below the level of
consciousness
6. Spinal Locomotion results from intricate dynamic
interactions between a central program in lower
thoraco-lumbar spine and proprio-ceptive
feedback from body in the absence of central
control by brain as in complete spinal cord injury
Following Spinal cord injury, the spinal circuitry
Components of spinal locomotion
Following Spinal cord injury, the spinal circuitry
below the lesion site does not become silent
rather it continues to maintain active and
functional neuronal properties although in a
modified manner
8. Centrally generated patterns
The spinal cord executes rhythmical and sequential
activation of muscles in locomotion.
The central pattern generator (CPG) provides the basic
locomotor rhythm and synergies by integrating commands
from various sources that serve to initiate or modulate its
output to meet the requirements of the environment.
Components of spinal locomotion
output to meet the requirements of the environment.
CPG within the lumbosacral spinal cord segments represent
an important component of the total circuitry that
generates and controls posture and locomotion.
This spinal circuitry can function independently in the
absence of descending input from the brain to generate
stable posture and locomotion and even modulate activity
to match changing conditions (e.g., stepping over obstacles).
This capability improve with training (spinal plasticity) and
therefore it is believed that spinal cord has the capability to
learn and memorize.
9. Sensory feedback
The sensory feedback originates
from muscles, joints, tendons and skin
afferents as well as from special senses and
dynamically adapts the locomotor pattern of
spinal cord to the requirements of thespinal cord to the requirements of the
environment. These afferent sensory
receptors perceive deformation of tissue the
amount of pressure (stretch or simply,
placement), direction of movement, speed and
velocity at which movement is occurring
10.
11. The spinal cord processes and interprets proprioception in a manner similar to
how our visual system processes information. When we view a painting, the brain
interprets the total visual field, as opposed to processing each individual pixel of
information independently, and then derives an image. At any instant the spinal
cord receives an ensemble of information from all receptors throughout the body
that signals a proprioceptive “image” that represents time and space, and it
computes which neurons to excite next based on the most recently perceived
“images.” The importance of the CPG is not simply its ability to generate
repetitive cycles, but also to receive, interpret, and predict the appropriate
sequences of actions during any part of the step cycle, i.e., state dependence.
The peripheral input then provides important information from which the
probabilities of a given set of neurons being active at any given time can be finely
The peripheral input then provides important information from which the
probabilities of a given set of neurons being active at any given time can be finely
tuned to a given situation during a specific phase of a step cycle. Thus, the
functional connectivity between mechanoreceptors and specific interneuronal
populations within the spinal cord varies according to the physiological state.
Even the efficacy of the monosynaptic input from muscle spindles to the motor
neuron changes readily from one part of the step cycle to another, according to
whether a subject is running or walking.
12.
13. Sensory modulation of CPG
The dynamic interactions between Spinal cord and sensory input
are ensured by modulating transmission in locomotors pathways
in a state- and phase-dependent manner. Proprioceptive inputs
from extensors can, during stance, adjust the timing and
amplitude of muscle activities of the limbs to the speed of
locomotion but be silenced during the swing phase of the cycle.locomotion but be silenced during the swing phase of the cycle.
Skin afferents participate predominantly in the correction of limb
and foot placement during stance on uneven terrain, but skin
stimuli can evoke different types of responses depending on
when they occur within the step cycle. It is important to note that
inputs from the hip appear to play a critical role in spinal
locomotion.
14.
15. Course Overview
These were the contents of the program and I was
expected to learn about the topics given below.
16. What I learned
• Memory, Central Anatomy
• Neuron-its parts, Glial Cell, Myelin, demylinization
• Meninges, Peripheral Diseases, Brain Tumors
• Electrical Language for signal
• Action Potential, Neuro-transmittor, Receptors• Action Potential, Neuro-transmittor, Receptors
• Botox
• Perception, Stimulus, Visual Pathway
• Vision and refractive errors
• Hearing, Vestibular function, Cochlea
18. Subject Correlation and Knowledge applications
What I learned what I can apply in routine daily life
• Nervous system organization and divisions
• How neurons work and conduct
• Central nervous system organization and its disorders
• Brian blood supply and injuries
• Perceptions, illusions, visual disorders
• Hearing mechanism and disorders• Hearing mechanism and disorders
• Muscle movement and posture control
• Movement and gait
• Temperature regulation
• Sleep Rhythms
• Amnesia
• Aphasia
• Memory
