Origins
This part of the brain is the starting point for the corticospinal tract.
What is the primary motor cortex?
The CST is crucial for fine motor skills, like these actions commonly performed by fingers
What is writing and precision grip
Damage to the CST in the left hemisphere can lead to motor weakness on this side of the body
What is the right side?
A lesion on the lateral coritcospinal tract would likely result in what type of motor deficit on the contralateral side of the body?
What is weakness or paralysis of distal limb muscles.
The corticospinal tract crosses over at this point in the brainstem
What is the medulla oblongata?
True or False: the CST controls involuntary movements
What is false?
The term for the increased muscle tone that can occur with a lateral corticospinal tract lesion?
What is spasticity?
This nervous system disorder characterized by muscle weakness can affect the CST
What is amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)?
After leaving the motor cortex, the CST descends through this part of the forebrain
What is the internal capsule?
The lateral corticospinal tract primarily controls these types of movements
What are voluntary limb movements?
The CST differs from the anterior corticospinal tract in terms of where it crosses the midline.
What is the lateral corticospinal tract crosses in the medullla while the anterior corticospinal tract crosses at the spinal cord level
Damage to the CST often leads to muscle stiffness, a condition know as this
What is hypertonia?
The CST fibers make their way through this part of the brainstem, located between the pons and medulla
What is the midbrain?
The CST allows precise control of the limbs on this side of the body relative to the originating cortex
What is the contralateral side?
True or False: the CST is responsible for facial movements
What is False
True/False: Fasciculi are a bundle of nerves fibers in the spinal cord responsible for carrying motor signals, and damage to these will affect voluntary movements.
What is true.
The CST's lower motor neurons connect to _____ fibers.
What is muscle?
Lower motor neurons activated by the CST control these types of muscle fibers
What are skeletal muscle fibers?
True or False: the CST is a descending motor neuron signal
Name one movement-related activity that SLPs might help patients recover after CST damage
What is handwriting?