Spinal motoneurons of the human newborn are highly synchronized during leg movements
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Motoneurons of neonatal rodents show synchronous activity that modulates the development of the neuromuscular system. However, the characteristics of the activity of human neonatal motoneurons are largely unknown. Using a noninvasive neural interface, we identified the discharge timings of individual spinal motoneurons in human newborns. We found highly synchronized activities of motoneurons of the tibialis anterior muscle, which were associated with fast leg movements. Although neonates’ motor units exhibited discharge rates similar to those of adults, their synchronization was significantly greater than in adults. Moreover, neonatal motor units showed coherent oscillations in the delta band, which is directly translated into force generation. These results suggest that motoneuron synchronization in human neonates might be an important mechanism for controlling fast limb movements, such as those of primitive reflexes. In addition to help revealing mechanisms of development, the proposed neural interface might monitor children at risk of developing motor disorders.
Date Issued
2020-11-01
Date Acceptance
2020-09-30
Citation
Science Advances, 2020, 6 (47)
ISSN
2375-2548
Publisher
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Journal / Book Title
Science Advances
Volume
6
Issue
47
Copyright Statement
© 2020 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works. Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial License 4.0 (CC BY-NC). https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial license, which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, so long as the resultant use is not for commercial advantage and provided the original work is properly cited.
License URL
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33219027
PII: 6/47/eabc3916
Subjects
BEHAVIOR
DIFFERENCE
DRIVE
FORCE
MOTOR-NEURON POOLS
Multidisciplinary Sciences
MUSCLES
OSCILLATIONS
RAT
Science & Technology
Science & Technology - Other Topics
STIMULATION
UNITS
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
United States
Article Number
eabc3916
Date Publish Online
2020-11-20