Motor Control Level 1 Practice Test

Muscle tone is the baseline resistance a muscle offers to being moved. When tone is low, as in hypotonia, the muscles feel unusually soft and there is less resistance to passive movement—the limbs may seem floppy or “droopy,” and head control or posture can be poor in infants. This reflects reduced neural drive to the muscles or disruptions in the pathways that help maintain steady tension. In contrast, hypertonia means the muscles are unusually stiff or resistant to movement. The resistance is higher than normal, so passive movement feels tough or restricted and the limb may adopt rigid or awkward postures. Hypertonia can show up in different patterns, such as spastic or rigid tone, depending on the underlying neural involvement. So, hypotonia is reduced muscle tone with flaccidity; hypertonia is increased tone, leading to stiffness. The other options mix up these signs, claim normal tone, or inappropriately assign them by age, which doesn’t fit how tone is described clinically.