What is Somatotopic representation?
Somatotopy is the point-for-point correspondence of an area of the body to a specific point on the central nervous system. Typically, the area of the body corresponds to a point on the primary somatosensory cortex (postcentral gyrus).
What does ventral horn mean?
The ventral horn of the spinal cord is one of the grey longitudinal columns found within the spinal cord. It contains the cell bodies of the lower motor neurons which have axons leaving via the ventral spinal roots on their way to innervate muscle fibers.
What is the function of the ventral horn cells?
The ventral horns contains the cell bodies of motor neurons that send axons via the ventral roots of the spinal nerves to terminate on striated muscles.
What does the ventral horn innervate?
The ventral horn comprises motor neurons that innervate skeletal muscle.
What type of matter is the ventral horn?
One of the divisions of the grey matter of the spinal cord, the ventral horn contains cell bodies of alpha motor neurons, which innervate skeletal muscle to cause movement.
What is another name for ventral horn?
The anterior grey column (also called the anterior cornu, anterior horn of spinal cord, motor horn or ventral horn) is the front column of grey matter in the spinal cord. It is one of the three grey columns.
Why does the size of the ventral horns of the spinal cord vary along its length?
The size of the ventral horns is influenced by the size of the cavity of the central canal of the spinal cord. b.) The ventral horns contain both somatic motor and somatic sensory neurons.
What is somatotopic mapping?
The somatotopic map is the projection of the body surface onto a brain area that is responsible for our sense of touch and that is called the somatosensory cortex. This projection connects neurons of the cortex with touch receptors in the skin surface such that neighborhood relations are preserved.
Where is Somatotopic organization found?
Introduction. Somatotopic organization in the cerebral cortex, especially in the primary motor and primary somatosensory cortices, is a well-known and fundamental concept to understand the functions of these areas. Each nucleus of the basal ganglia also shows somatotopy, but it has received little attention.
What is the ventral horn made of?
visceral neurons, and (3) the ventral horns, composed of motor neurons. The white matter forming the ascending and descending spinal tracts is grouped in three paired funiculi, or sectors: the dorsal or posterior funiculi, lying between the dorsal horns; the lateral funiculi, lying on each side of the spinal cord…
What is the ventral root of the spinal cord?
the motor root of a spinal nerve, which carries motor information from the spinal cord to the rest of the body and leaves from the anterior side of the cord.
What is the ventral spinal cord?
Anterior (ventral) horn. This front section of the gray matter region connects with the anterior nerve root and sends motor signals to control muscles, such as in the neck, shoulder, arm, hand, or elsewhere.