Clinical Aspects of Sensory Motor Integration

This book provides a broad spectrum of aspects concerning the integration of the sensory motor and motor system in man and their disturbances in neurologic patients. Neurophysiologic, neuroanatomical and neurochemical viewpoints are considered. The contributions are organized according to the following subject areas: somatosensory activity, central motor actions of sensory input, the muscles and their neural control, convergence on the final common path, long-loop reflexes, motor functions of basal ganglia, thalamocortical contributions to sensory motor integration, posture and movements, and degeneration and regeneration. The reader will find the book a valuable source of up-to-date information, comprehensive reviews, and new results in the various areas described above.

The ability to use tools skillfully is generally regarded as one of the major achievements in the evolutionary development of the human nervous system. It is possible for controlled movements of muscles to be executed only if sensory information is integrated into complex neural circuits at various hierarchical levels. The chapters in this volume deal with basic and clinical aspects of integrative processing of sensory and motor activities. New findings emphasize the important influence of somatosensory activity such as tactile, proprioceptive, noxious cutaneous, and articular input on motor output. Furthermore, recordings of evoked potentials as well as unit recordings indicate that sensory and cortical activities are highly interrelated. Control of muscles by motoneurons is exerted both electrically and chemically. Disturbed muscle-motoneuron interaction is reflected in ultrastructural motoneuron morphology and may be of importance in the pathogenesis of motoneuron disease. Long loop reflex testing under various pathological conditions provides insight into disturbed sensory motor circuitry in humans. Electrophysiological recording as well as neurochemical and im- munohistochemical studies elucidate the neural circuitry of basal ganglia and their neural connections, thus providing improved therapeutic concepts. The role of the thalamus and thalamocortical connections in sensory motor processing is of particular interest, because motor disturbances such as tremor or dystonia can be effectively relieved by stereotaxic interventions at the subthalamic or thalamic level.

Contents: Somatosensory Activity Relevant for Motor Output.- Central Motor Actions of Sensory Input.- The Muscles and Their Neural Control.- Convergence on the Final Common Path.- Long-Loop Reflexes: Concepts and Consequences.- Motor Functions of Basal Ganglia.- Thalamocortical Contributions to Sensory Motor Integration.- Posture and Movement: Interactions and Disturbances.- Effects of Growth, Degeneration and Regeneration on the Sensory Motor System.- Subject Index.