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Coordinate Transformations, Role of Spinal Cord in

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Encyclopedia of Computational Neuroscience

Synonyms

Descending control of spinal circuitry in voluntary movements; Role of descending pathways in extrinsic to intrinsic coordinate transformation; Spinal control of voluntary movements

Definition

The process through which a motor target in the external environment is translated into a body-centered coordinate system is called coordinate transformation. In the motor system, this translation is often referred to as the transformation of an externally defined (e.g., in a retinotopic coordinate frame) target into a muscle-based (or intrinsically defined) motor command. Multiple cortical areas are known to be involved in this process. Many of these areas, including pre- and post-central sites, project downstream to activate directly and indirectly spinal neurons. The interaction of this extensive system of descending pathways with spinal circuitry may further adjust motor commands before they reach target muscles in a final processing step of coordinate transformation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Neurobiology, Hadassah Medical School, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel

    Prof. Yifat Prut

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  1. Prof. Yifat Prut
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Correspondence to Yifat Prut .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Atlanta, Georgia, USA

    Dieter Jaeger

  2. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Florida International University, Miami, Florida, USA

    Ranu Jung

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Prut, Y. (2014). Coordinate Transformations, Role of Spinal Cord in. In: Jaeger, D., Jung, R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Computational Neuroscience. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7320-6_637-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7320-6_637-1

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  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-7320-6

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