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A motor neuron (or motoneuron or efferent neuron [1]) is a neuron whose cell body is located in the motor cortex, brainstem or the spinal cord, and whose axon (fiber) projects to the spinal cord or outside of the spinal cord to directly or indirectly control effector organs, mainly muscles and glands. [2]
The development of the nervous system in humans, or neural development, or neurodevelopment involves the studies of embryology, developmental biology, and neuroscience.These describe the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which the complex nervous system forms in humans, develops during prenatal development, and continues to develop postnatally.
Neurotransmission (Latin: transmissio "passage, crossing" from transmittere "send, let through") is the process by which signaling molecules called neurotransmitters are released by the axon terminal of a neuron (the presynaptic neuron), and bind to and react with the receptors on the dendrites of another neuron (the postsynaptic neuron) a ...
Typically, neurotransmitter receptors are located on the postsynaptic neuron, while neurotransmitter autoreceptors are located on the presynaptic neuron, as is the case for monoamine neurotransmitters; [45] in some cases, a neurotransmitter utilizes retrograde neurotransmission, a type of feedback signaling in neurons where the neurotransmitter ...
The function of the active zone is to ensure that neurotransmitters can be reliably released in a specific location of a neuron and only released when the neuron fires an action potential. [2] As an action potential propagates down an axon it reaches the axon terminal called the presynaptic bouton.
A neuron is called identified if it has properties that distinguish it from every other neuron in the same animal—properties such as location, neurotransmitter, gene expression pattern, and connectivity—and if every individual organism belonging to the same species has one and only one neuron with the same set of properties. [35]
A neuromuscular junction (or myoneural junction) is a chemical synapse between a motor neuron and a muscle fiber. [1] It allows the motor neuron to transmit a signal to the muscle fiber, causing muscle contraction. [2] Muscles require innervation to function—and even just to maintain muscle tone, avoiding atrophy.
The preliminary contact formed between the motor neuron and the myotube generates synaptic transmission almost immediately, but the signal produced is very weak. There is evidence that Schwann cells may facilitate these preliminary signals by increasing the amount of spontaneous neurotransmitter release through small molecule signals. [35]