August 2011
Intermediate to advanced
320 pages
9h 48m
English
In this chapter we will consider several types of somatic and autonomic reflexes whose operation is improved when modulated by the cerebellum. The prototypical adaptive cerebellar control of these reflexes is similar to that for the ocular reflexes analyzed in Chapter 10, “Ocular Reflexes.” In particular, eye-blink conditioning, together with VOR/OKR adaptation, provide excellent examples of cerebellar function.
A stretch reflex causes the contraction of a muscle in response to its stretch. Interestingly, its mediators are quite complex. First, three types of motoneurons are involved. α-motoneurons innervate extrafusal muscle fibers, ...