Motor Analyzer

the aggregate of sensory nerve formations that receive, analyze, and synthesize impulses coming from the muscle and articular apparatus. The term was introduced by I. P. Pavlov.

The motor analyzer, like other analyzers, consists of a chain of nerve cells that begins with the receptors of tendons, joints, and other proprioceptors and ends with groups of nerve cells in the cortex of the large hemispheres of the brain. Impulses pass from the proprioceptors to the first neurons of the motor analyzer, which are located in the intravertebral nerve ganglia, then to the spinal cord and along its dorsal columns to the medulla oblongata, where the second neurons of the motor analyzer are located. The fibers emerging from the nuclei of the medulla oblongata go to the opposite side, forming an intersection, rise to the thalami, where the third neurons are located, and reach the cerebral cortex. In addition to this path, signals from the motor and support apparatus may also reach the cerebral cortex through the reticular formation and the cerebellum. A leading role in the formation and manifestation of movements belongs to the motor analyzer; it plays an essential role in higher nervous activity.