Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Motor Units

Motor Units

The motor unit is a fundamental component of the neuromuscular system and plays a crucial role in coordinating muscle contractions. It consists of a somatic motor neuron, which connects and controls multiple skeletal muscle fibers, forming a single functional segment. The axon of the motor neuron branches out and establishes synaptic connections known as neuromuscular junctions with individual muscle fibers within the motor unit.
Motor units come in different sizes, with smaller units...

Motor Units

Motor Units

A motor unit consists of two main components: a single efferent motor neuron (i.e., a neuron that carries impulses away from the central nervous system) and all of the muscle fibers it innervates. The motor neuron may innervate multiple muscle fibers, which are single cells, but only one motor neuron innervates a single muscle fiber.

Hierarchy of Motor Control

Hierarchy of Motor Control

The hierarchy of motor control refers to the different levels of organization and processing involved in controlling movement in the body. These levels range from higher cortical areas involved in planning and decision-making to lower spinal cord reflexes that respond automatically to external stimuli.

Motor Unit Stimulation

Motor Unit Stimulation

When the neuron of a motor unit fires an action potential, it triggers a series of events, leading to a twitch contraction in the muscle fibers. The process of excitation-contraction coupling is crucial in relaying the action potential to the muscle fibers.
The latent period of contraction marks the onset of excitation-contraction coupling, when the action potential propagates across the sarcolemma, preparing the muscle fibers for contraction. As the fibers enter the contraction phase, the...

Muscle Stimulation Frequency

Muscle Stimulation Frequency

The contraction strength of muscles is regulated by motor neurons, which modulate the frequency of action potentials dispatched to the motor units based on the body's requirements. This process of varying the muscle stimulation frequency allows muscles to contract with a force that is precisely tailored to the needs of the moment, whether lifting a feather or a heavy box.
Wave summation
At low firing rates, motor neurons induce individual twitch contractions in muscle fibers. These twitches...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Bridging the divide in motor learning research.

Nature human behaviour·2026

Same author

Cervical spinal cord stimulation disrupts proprioception yet improves voluntary arm reaching.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026

Same author

Arm dominance is an emergent effect of practice executing complex trajectory shapes required by tools and objects.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026

Same author

Perceptual consciousness probably did not evolve for model-based planning.

The Behavioral and brain sciences·2026

Same author

Novel tool use does not depend on mechanical reasoning: evidence from apraxia.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026

Same author

Spinal cord stimulation for upper limb motor function in people with chronic post-stroke hemiparesis: a feasibility trial.

Nature medicine·2026

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 29, 2026

The "Motor" in Implicit Motor Sequence Learning: A Foot-stepping Serial Reaction Time Task

The "Motor" in Implicit Motor Sequence Learning: A Foot-stepping Serial Reaction Time Task

Published on: May 3, 2018

Motor learning: the great rate debate.

Adrian M Haith¹, John W Krakauer²

¹Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA.

Current Biology : CB

|May 22, 2014

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Our innate ability to adapt movements is more easily changed by experience than previously understood. This adaptability plays a crucial role in motor control and learning.

More Related Videos

Study Motor Skill Learning by Single-pellet Reaching Tasks in Mice

Study Motor Skill Learning by Single-pellet Reaching Tasks in Mice

Published on: March 4, 2014

Investigating Motor Skill Learning Processes with a Robotic Manipulandum

Investigating Motor Skill Learning Processes with a Robotic Manipulandum

Published on: February 12, 2017

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Apr 29, 2026

The "Motor" in Implicit Motor Sequence Learning: A Foot-stepping Serial Reaction Time Task

The "Motor" in Implicit Motor Sequence Learning: A Foot-stepping Serial Reaction Time Task

Published on: May 3, 2018

Study Motor Skill Learning by Single-pellet Reaching Tasks in Mice

Study Motor Skill Learning by Single-pellet Reaching Tasks in Mice

Published on: March 4, 2014

Investigating Motor Skill Learning Processes with a Robotic Manipulandum

Investigating Motor Skill Learning Processes with a Robotic Manipulandum

Published on: February 12, 2017

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Motor Control
Human Adaptation

Background:

The human capacity for motor adaptation allows for adjustments to body or environmental changes.
Previous understanding suggested limited plasticity in these adaptive mechanisms.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the extent to which motor adaptation is influenced by experience.
To challenge existing assumptions about the fixed nature of innate movement compensation.

Main Methods:

The study likely involved experiments measuring movement adjustments in response to novel conditions.
Analysis focused on the degree and speed of adaptation observed.

Main Results:

Findings indicate that motor adaptation is highly susceptible to modulation by experience.
This suggests greater neuroplasticity in motor systems than previously recognized.

Conclusions:

Experience significantly shapes our innate ability to adapt movements.
This has implications for understanding motor learning, rehabilitation, and skill acquisition.