The ETS transcription factor ER81 is expressed in sensory neurons and motoneurons that innervate the adductor and femorotibialis muscles in chick hindlimb and is essential for the development of monosynaptic connections between these two populations of neurons. Neurons need a signal(s) from limb bud mesoderm to initiate ER81 expression. It is not known whether the mature expression pattern aris...

Recent studies showed that brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) prevents developing motoneurons from naturally occurring and axotomy-induced cell death. Here we examined whether adult motoneurons retain responsiveness to BDNF. Consistent with previous studies, we found that adult spinal and brainstem motoneurons expressed the mRNA of BDNF receptor, trkB. In addition, the trkB immunoreactivi...

An unresolved mystery in the field of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is why a reduction of the ubiquitously expressed Smn protein causes defects mostly in motoneurons. We addressed the possibility that this restricted vulnerability stems from elevated Smn expression in motoneurons. To explore this, we established an ex vivo zebrafish culture system of GFP-marked motoneurons to quantitatively mea...

Pudendal motoneurons in male rats are located in two sexually dimorphic motoneuronal pools: the spinal nucleus of the bulbocavernosus (SNB) and the dorsolateral nucleus (DLN). SNB motoneurons innervate sexually dimorphic muscles bulbocavernosus (BC) and levator ani (LA) and the sexually monomorphic external anal sphincter (EAS) muscle. DLN motoneurons innervate either the sexually dimorphic isc...

shoulder movements are a complex motor act, controlled by many muscles attached to thescapula and the vertebral column. these muscles are innervating by motoneurons (mns) located in theventral horn of the spinal cord. motoneurons of the ventral horn are arranged such that several groups ofmns can be distinguished in a transverse section through the spinal cord. the anatomical or functionalimpli...

Trigeminal neuralgia is one of the most common causes of facial pain. It implies short lasting episodes of unilateral electric shock-like pain with abrupt onset and termination, in the distribution of one or more divisions of the trigeminal nerve that are triggered by innocuous stimuli. Most cases of trigeminal neuralgia are caused by compression of the trigeminal nerve root. Depending on the e...

background and objective: deprenyl is a drug for the treatment of parkinson’s disease, where the dopaminergic neurons are the target of this drug. several reports also documented that deprenyl has an effect on the sensory and motor neurons. there are some reports about the mode of action of deprenyl on motoneurons as a neuroprotective agent, while others believe that deprenyl acts as a neurores...

Abstract Introduction Neurons in the pre-Bötzinger complex are critical for generation of inspiratory rhythm and regulation activity phrenic motoneurons, which control diaphragm. Dysregulation this neuronal network resulting dysfunction diaphragm is associated with central sleep apnea (CSA). Orexins by stimulating both orexin 1 receptor (OX1R) and/or 2 (OX2R) can activate these neurons In study...