Related Experiment Video

Updated: Dec 18, 2025

Dissection of Single Skeletal Muscle Fibers for Immunofluorescent and Morphometric Analyses of Whole-Mount Neuromuscular Junctions
08:41

Dissection of Single Skeletal Muscle Fibers for Immunofluorescent and Morphometric Analyses of Whole-Mount Neuromuscular Junctions

Published on: August 14, 2021

9.8K

Molecular and electrophysiological properties of mouse motoneuron and motor unit subtypes

Marin Manuel1, Daniel Zytnicki1

  • 1Center for Neurophysics, Physiology and Pathology, Paris Descartes University, CNRS UMR 8119, Paris, France.

Current Opinion in Physiology
|June 20, 2020
PubMed

Keywords:
Functional diversity of spinal motoneuronsIn vitro and in vivo spinal cord electrophysiologyMolecular markersSpinal motor system

More Related Videos

Electrophysiological Motor Unit Number Estimation MUNE Measuring Compound Muscle Action Potential CMAP in Mouse Hindlimb Muscles09:07

Electrophysiological Motor Unit Number Estimation MUNE Measuring Compound Muscle Action Potential CMAP in Mouse Hindlimb Muscles

Published on: September 25, 2015

21.9K
Functional Isolation of Single Motor Units of Rat Medial Gastrocnemius Muscle06:54

Functional Isolation of Single Motor Units of Rat Medial Gastrocnemius Muscle

Published on: December 26, 2020

5.7K

Related Concept Videos

Motor Units00:46

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.
61.5K
Motor Units01:13

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...
7.2K
The Neuromuscular Junction01:19

The Neuromuscular Junction

The nervous system consists of complex motor neuron circuits, including upper motor neurons originating from the cerebral cortex and lower motor neurons starting in the spinal cord, coordinating both voluntary and involuntary movements. Among these, somatic motor neurons activate skeletal muscles and are classified into alpha, beta, and gamma types. Alpha neurons are vital for voluntary movement coordination, while gamma neurons adjust muscle spindle sensitivity, and the function of beta...
17.4K
Motor Unit Stimulation01:20

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...
3.4K
Nervous Tissue: Neuron Types01:19

Nervous Tissue: Neuron Types

Neurons, the fundamental units of the nervous system, can be classified based on both their structural and functional characteristics.
Structurally, neurons are categorized into three main types: multipolar, bipolar, and unipolar (or pseudounipolar). Multipolar neurons, which are the most common type in the brain and spinal cord, as well as all motor neurons, possess multiple dendrites and a single axon.
Bipolar neurons, on the other hand, have one primary dendrite and one axon. They are...
5.5K
Neuromuscular Junction And Blockade01:29

Neuromuscular Junction And Blockade

The site of chemical communication between a motor neuron and a muscle fiber is called the neuromuscular junction (NMJ). The end of the motor neuron at the NMJ divides into a cluster of synaptic end bulbs. The cytoplasm of these bulbs consists of synaptic vesicles enclosing acetylcholine molecules, the principal neurotransmitter released at the NMJ. The region opposite the synaptic bulb that ends in the muscle fiber is called the motor end plate, which has acetylcholine receptors. Within the...
4.4K