This comprehensive textbook illustrates the excitement and the difficulties of working at the interface between pure and applied research. Written with the student firmly in mind, the text provides a concise account of the basic anatomy and function of the parts of the CNS involved in controlling body movement. Clinical information is integrated throughout and, wherever possible, details of relevant experiments given.

Introduction: Plans, strategies and actions. Mechanical properties of muscles. The motor unit. Proprioceptors in muscle, joint and skin. Reflex pathways in the spinal cord. Investigating reflex pathways and their function. Ascending and descending pathways of the spinal cord. Posture. Cerebal cortex. The cerebellum. The basal ganglia.