Loading…
The bundles of nerve fibres running up and down the spinal cord that carry sensation to the brain and movement commands from it.
Dorsal columns cross high in the medulla for touch and position; the spinothalamic tract crosses low for pain and temperature, which is why Brown-Sequard splits the two.
Action Potential
A rapid, self-propagating reversal of membrane potential that carries nerve and muscle signals.
Reflex Arc
The neural pathway that produces an automatic, rapid response to a stimulus.
Cerebellar Function and Lesion Signs
The cerebellum does not start movement; it compares the movement you intended with the movement you are making and corrects the difference.
The Hypothalamus
A small region at the base of the brain that links the nervous and endocrine systems and keeps the body's internal conditions stable.
Referred Pain
Pain felt at a site away from its true source, explained by how visceral and skin nerves share pathways in the spinal cord.
The Basal Ganglia
A group of deep brain nuclei that fine-tune movement, smoothing and scaling voluntary actions and holding back unwanted ones.