C-boutons are important cholinergic modulatory loci for state-dependent alterations in motoneuron firing rate. m2 receptors are concentrated postsynaptic to C-boutons, and m2 receptor activation increases motoneuron excitability by reducing the action potential afterhyperpolarization. Here, using an intensive review of the current literature as well as data from our laboratory, we illustrate th...

Stability of neural circuits is reliant on homeostatic mechanisms that return neuron activity towards pre-determined and physiologically appropriate levels. Without these mechanisms, changes due to synaptic plasticity, ageing and disease may push neural circuits towards instability. Whilst widely documented, understanding of how and when neurons determine an appropriate activity level, the so-c...

OBJECTIVE To test the hypothesis that motoneuron excitability in stroke subjects is influenced by peripheral sensory input through passive exercise to the hemiplegic upper extremity. DESIGN Case-control prospective study. SETTING Physical medicine and rehabilitation inpatient and outpatient clinic at a tertiary Veterans Affairs medical center. PARTICIPANTS Nineteen hemiplegic adult subjec...

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative motoneuron disease with presently no cure. Motoneuron (MN) hyperexcitability is commonly observed in ALS and is suggested to be a precursor for excitotoxic cell death. However, it is unknown whether hyperexcitability also occurs in MNs that are resistant to degeneration. Second, it is unclear whether all the MNs within homog...

Spontaneous Ca2+ transients and actin dynamics in primary motoneurons correspond to cellular differentiation such as axon elongation and growth cone formation. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and its receptor trkB support both motoneuron survival and synaptic differentiation. However, in motoneurons effects of BDNF/trkB signaling on spontaneous Ca2+ influx and actin dynamics at axonal ...