Reinnervation is needed to rescue muscle when motoneurons die in disease or injury. Embryonic ventral spinal cord cells transplanted into peripheral nerve reinnervate muscle and reduce atrophy, but low motoneuron survival may limit motor unit formation. We tested whether transplantation of a purified population of embryonic motoneurons into peripheral nerve (mean ± SE, 146,458 ± 4,011 motoneuro...

Phrenic motor neurons are recruited across a range of motor behaviors to generate varying levels of diaphragm muscle (DIAm) force. We hypothesized that DIAm motor units are recruited in a fixed order across a range of motor behaviors of varying force levels, consistent with the Henneman Size Principle. Single motor unit action potentials and compound DIAm EMG activities were recorded in anesthe...

1. Two aspects of nerve-muscle development were studied in neonatal rats, the role of competition between motor neurones during the elimination of polyneuronal innervation, and the dependence of muscle fibre production upon the number of motor neurones innervating the muscle. 2. Rat lumbrical muscles were partially denervated at birth by cutting the lateral plantar nerve. Many muscles remained ...

Background: What is the number and size of motor units, axonal excitability profile in early stages muscle weakness ALS compared to controls? Methods: We enrolled patients with APB manual strength testing rated four or four-minus (ALS:4-arm) four-plus (ALS:4+ arm) control participants >35 years-old from University Toronto, Alberta Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo. Mean±SD, one-way ANOVA ANC...

Mammalian skeletal muscles are composed of a mixture of motor unit types, which contribute a range of mechanical and physiological properties to the muscle. For a muscle to effectively contribute to smooth, co-ordinated movement it must activate an appropriate number and combination of motor units to generate the required force over a suitable time period. Much evidence exists indicating that m...

The purpose of this brief review is to examine the neural adaptations associated with training, by focusing on the behavior of single motor units. The review synthesizes current understanding on motor unit recruitment and rate coding during voluntary contractions, briefly describes the techniques used to record motor unit activity, and then evaluates the adaptations that have been observed in m...