This book aims to provide a comprehensive and timely review of new findings in motoneuron research. Recent findings have revealed that motoneurons are more complex and have more extensive functions than previously imagined. Some of the molecular and genetic pathways that orchestrate the development of motoneurons have been discovered, as have the mechanisms responsible for the selective innervation of muscles by specific pools of motoneurons. These novel findings are revolutionizing ideas about the function of motoneurons and have important implications for motoneuron disease.

Chapters from several of the foremost figures in the field are included in this book and will emphasize how basic science is the engine driving the discovery of novel treatments for degenerative motoneuron diseases. Cutting edge developments in the use of pluripotent stem cells to correct motoneuron disease will be also be covered. This book would be useful to students of basic motoneuron physiology, locomotor behavior and motor control. This book would also be of interest to professional neuroscientists, neurologists, and neurosurgeons.

Discusses new findings in motoneuron research Provides information on novel treatments for motoneuron diseases Ideal for graduate students, basic neuroscientists, and clinicians

Inhalt

Establishing the molecular and functional diversity of spinal motoneurons.- Chloride homeostasis in developing motoneurons.- Normal development and pathology of motoneurons: anatomy, electrophysiological properties, firing patterns and circuit connectivity.- Homeostatic regulation of motoneuron properties in development.- Homeostatic plasticity of the mammalian neuromuscular junction.- Diversity of mammalian motoneurons and motor units.- Synaptic projections of motoneurons within the spinal cord.- Recruitment of motoneurons.- Electrical properties of adult mammalian motoneurons.-The cellular basis for the generation of firing patterns in human motor units.- Motoneuronal regulation of central pattern generator and network function.- Extraocular motoneurons and neurotrophism.- Motoneuron diseases.- Electrical and morphological properties of developing motoneurons in postnatal mice and early abnormalities in sod1 transgenic mice.- From physiological properties to selective vulnerability of motor units in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.