9 14 MIT Spring 2009 Class 15 17 Questions on Schneider chapters and lectures 1 For the mammalian midbrain what are three outputs that influence specific types of movement Name the structures where these outputs originate 2 Locomotion is often initiated because of activity generated in what diencephalic structure 3 Maintaining balance of the body during standing or locomotion depends on reticulospinal pathways from the hindbrain and on two other descending pathways What are they 4 The midbrain tectum controls two major types of movements basic to survival What are they How do the output pathways for these two movements differ 5 Grasping with the hands in large primates is largely controlled by neocortex What brainstem structure appeared earlier in evolution and controlled this kind of movement 6 Describe functions of the three major pathways or groups of pathways that were separately destroyed by surgical lesions in the Lawrence and Kuypers study of motor control in the monkey 7 What is Deacon s rule What does it predict about the projections outputs of the optic tectum in birds with a very large tectum and nocturnal mammals with a much smaller tectum 8 Name a movement pattern in an animal or human that is largely under the control of hindbrain and spinal cord structures and is centrally generated once it is triggered 9 Name two brainstem cell groups or types that have very widespread projections to other parts of the central nervous system What kind of functions are these projections involved in 10 What are three major types of movement from a functional point of view 11 What two sensory modalities most strongly shaped the evolution of the forebrain 12 What is the basic spatial layout of motor neurons at one of the spinal cord enlargements 9 14 MIT Spring 2009 Class 15 17 13 Describe the three types of lesions in the Lawrence and Kuypers lesion study of the descending motor system pathways 14 What are three basic types of explanations of temporal patterns of movements 15 What was the basic argument in Karl Lashley s paper in 1917 called The problem of serial order in behavior Questions on additional readings Swanson 2003 ch 6 pp 97 122 1 What are the three major divisions of the motor system How do the motor neurons differ in these three divisions 2 Where are the rostral most somatic motor neurons located Where are the caudal most somatic motor neurons located 3 The muscles that move the lips and the muscles that move the jaw are controlled by different groups of motor neurons that send their axons out through two different cranial nerves What are these motor neuron groups brainstem nuclei and cranial nerves 4 How does Swanson characterize the motor system as a hierarchy His theory is characterized in figures which were inspired by the ethologist Niko Tinbergen and by physiological and anatomical studies Nauta Feirtag 1986 chapter 7 pp 91 107 Note Some of this material will be dealt with again later in a class session on the corpus striatum 5 Name the four major tracts descending from the brainstem to the spinal cord p 95 6 Name the two tracts composing the pyramidal motor system Why is this system called pyramidal p 96 7 On what type of neurons do most of the axons in the corticospinal tract synapse p 96 8 Name at least two major structures of the extrapyramidal motor system pp 97 101 9 What are the two structures which are referred to as satellites of the striatum and pallidum respectively What diseases or clinical symptoms are associated with these satellites pp 98 99 10 The substantia nigra is found within the forebrain midbrain hindbrain Many of its neurons contain a black pigment called Its major neurotransmitter is 9 14 MIT Spring 2009 Class 15 17 11 The cerebellum receives input from primary sensory neurons of which sense organ Through which cranial nerve Briefly describe some clinical symptoms caused by cerebellar lesions pp 102 103 12 Which eye muscles are responsible for moving the eyes away from the midline away from the nose And towards the midline towards the nose Name two midbrain structures the stimulation of which can elicit eye movements pp 104 105 Striedter 2005 chapter 7 pp 217 245 13 According to Striedter in a typical mammalian brain an average neuron is connected to at least how many neurons What is the current estimate of the number of neurons in a typical human brain p 217 14 What is the epigenetic population matching mechanism in neural development Why is this mechanism described as epigenetic How can such a mechanism facilitate emergence of morphologically diverse brains in evolution pp 220 221 Name two molecules that might be involved in epigenetic population matching classes 12 13 lectures 15 Describe Ebbesson s parcellation hypothesis of brain evolution pp 228 229 Describe one example supporting this hypothesis p 233 How is the weaker version of Ebbesson s theory related to patterns of axonal growth during development pp 233 234 16 What is the large equals well connected rule first proposed by Terrence Deacon 1990 Why is this rule reasonable judging from the perspective of brain development pp 237 238 17 Name two structures in two different animals respectively that can serve as test cases of Deacon s large equals well connected rule p 238 Describe a hypothetical situation in which Deacon s rule would fail to explain the observed neuronal projection patterns you have to synthesize what you have learned from this chapter and classes 12 13 MIT OpenCourseWare http ocw mit edu 9 14 Brain Structure and Its Origins Spring 2009 For information about citing these materials or our Terms of Use visit http ocw mit edu terms