Editing Brain (section)

=== Motor control ===
[[Motor system]]s are areas of the brain that are involved in [[motor control|initiating body movements]], that is, in activating muscles. Except for the muscles that control the eye, which are driven by nuclei in the midbrain, all the voluntary muscles in the body are directly innervated by [[motor neuron]]s in the spinal cord and hindbrain.<ref name="Kandel 2000"/><!--Ch 34--> Spinal motor neurons are controlled both by neural circuits intrinsic to the spinal cord, and by inputs that descend from the brain. The intrinsic spinal circuits implement many [[reflex]] responses, and contain [[central pattern generator|pattern generators]] for rhythmic movements such as [[walking]] or [[Aquatic locomotion|swimming]]. The descending connections from the brain allow for more sophisticated control.<ref name="Kandel 2000"/><!--Ch. 36 and 37-->

The brain contains several motor areas that project directly to the spinal cord. At the lowest level are motor areas in the medulla and pons, which control stereotyped movements such as walking, [[breathing]], or [[swallowing]]. At a higher level are areas in the midbrain, such as the [[red nucleus]], which is responsible for coordinating movements of the arms and legs. At a higher level yet is the [[primary motor cortex]], a strip of tissue located at the posterior edge of the frontal lobe. The primary motor cortex sends projections to the subcortical motor areas, but also sends a massive projection directly to the spinal cord, through the [[pyramidal tract]]. This direct corticospinal projection allows for precise voluntary control of the fine details of movements. Other motor-related brain areas exert secondary effects by projecting to the primary motor areas. Among the most important secondary areas are the [[premotor cortex]], [[supplementary motor area]], [[basal ganglia]], and [[cerebellum]].<ref name="Kandel 2000"/><!--Ch. 33--> In addition to all of the above, the brain and spinal cord contain extensive circuitry to control the [[autonomic nervous system]] which controls the movement of the [[smooth muscle]] of the body.<ref name="Kandel 2000" /><!--ch49-->

{| class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto;"
|+ Major areas involved in controlling movement
|-
! Area
! width="100" | Location
! Function
|-
! scope=row style="text-align:left" | [[Anterior horn of spinal cord|Ventral horn]]
| style="background: tan" | Spinal cord || style="background:#ffdead" | Contains motor neurons that directly activate muscles<ref>{{cite web |last=Dafny |first=N |title=Anatomy of the spinal cord |publisher=Neuroscience Online |url=http://neuroscience.uth.tmc.edu/s2/chapter03.html |access-date=2011-10-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111008172218/http://neuroscience.uth.tmc.edu/s2/chapter03.html |archive-date=2011-10-08 }}</ref>
|-
! scope=row style="text-align:left" | [[Oculomotor nucleus|Oculomotor nuclei]]
| style="background: tan" | Midbrain || style="background:#ffdead" | Contains motor neurons that directly activate the eye muscles<ref>{{cite web |last=Dragoi |first=V |title=Ocular motor system |publisher=Neuroscience Online |url=http://neuroscience.uth.tmc.edu/s3/chapter07.html |access-date=2011-10-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111117070343/http://neuroscience.uth.tmc.edu/s3/chapter07.html |archive-date=2011-11-17 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
|-
! scope=row style="text-align:left" | [[Cerebellum]]
| style="background: tan" | Hindbrain || style="background:#ffdead" | Calibrates precision and timing of movements<ref name="Kandel 2000"/><!--Ch. 42-->
|-
! scope=row style="text-align:left" | [[Basal ganglia]]
| style="background: tan" | Forebrain || style="background:#ffdead" | Action selection on the basis of motivation<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gurney |first1=K |year=2004 |title=Computational models of the basal ganglia: from robots to membranes |journal=Trends in Neurosciences |volume=27 |pages=453–459 |pmid=15271492 |doi=10.1016/j.tins.2004.06.003 |last2=Prescott |first2=TJ |last3=Wickens |first3=JR |last4=Redgrave |first4=P |issue=8|s2cid=2148363 }}</ref>
|-
! scope=row style="text-align:left" | [[Motor cortex]]
| style="background: tan" | Frontal lobe || style="background:#ffdead" | Direct cortical activation of spinal motor circuits<ref>{{Cite web|last=Knierim|first=James |title=Motor Cortex (Section 3, Chapter 3)|url=https://nba.uth.tmc.edu/neuroscience/s3/chapter03.html|access-date=2021-01-23|website=Neuroscience Online|publication-place=Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, McGovern Medical School}}</ref>
|-
! scope=row style="text-align:left" | [[Premotor cortex]]
| style="background: tan" | Frontal lobe || style="background:#ffdead" | Groups elementary movements into coordinated patterns<ref name="Kandel 2000"/><!--Ch. 38-->
|-
! scope=row style="text-align:left" | [[Supplementary motor area]]
| style="background: tan" | Frontal lobe || style="background:#ffdead" | Sequences movements into temporal patterns<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Shima |first1=K |last2=Tanji |first2=J |year=1998 |title=Both supplementary and presupplementary motor areas are crucial for the temporal organization of multiple movements |journal=[[Journal of Neurophysiology]] |volume=80 |pages=3247–3260 |pmid=9862919 |issue=6|doi=10.1152/jn.1998.80.6.3247 }}</ref>
|-
! scope=row style="text-align:left" | [[Prefrontal cortex]]
| style="background: tan" | Frontal lobe || style="background:#ffdead" | Planning and other [[executive functions]]<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Miller |first1=EK |last2=Cohen |first2=JD |s2cid=7301474 |title=An integrative theory of prefrontal cortex function |journal=Annual Review of Neuroscience |volume=24 |issue=1 |pages=167–202 |year=2001 |pmid=11283309 |doi=10.1146/annurev.neuro.24.1.167}}</ref>
|}