All movements are generated by the activation of motoneurons, and hence their input-output
properties define the final step in processing of all motor commands. A major challenge to …

The dendrites of motoneurons are not, as once thought, passive conduits for synaptic inputs.
Instead they have voltage‐dependent channels that provide the capacity to generate a very …

Muscle paralysis after spinal cord injury is partly caused by a loss of brainstem-derived
serotonin (5-HT), which normally maintains motoneuron excitability by regulating crucial …

Persistent neural activity refers to a sustained change in action potential discharge that long
outlasts a stimulus. It is found in a diverse set of brain regions and organisms and several in …

The excitability of spinal motoneurons is both fundamental for motor behavior and essential
in diagnosis of neural disorders. There are two mechanisms for altering this excitability. The …

Persistent inward currents (PICs) are present in many types of neurons and likely have
diverse functions. In spinal motoneurons, PICs are especially strong, primarily located in …

After chronic spinal cord injury motoneurons exhibit large plateau potentials (sustained
depolarizations triggered by brief inputs) that play a primary role in the development of …

Dendrites contain voltage-sensitive conductances that, in vivo, can be influenced by
neuromodulatory inputs. In spinal motoneurons, dendrites have voltage-activated persistent …

We examined the modulation of persistent inward currents (PICs) by serotonin (5-HT) in
spinal motoneurons of normal and chronic spinal rats. PICs are composed of both a TTX …

Immediately after spinal cord injury (SCI), a devastating paralysis results from the loss of
brain stem and cortical innervation of spinal neurons that control movement, including a loss …