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Neurosciences

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Series

Motoneuron

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Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences

Facilitation–Inhibition Control Of Motor Neuronal Persistent Inward Currents In Young And Older Adults, Lucas B. R. Orssatto, Gabriel L. Fernandes, Anthony J. Blazevich, Gabriel S. Trajano Dec 2022

Facilitation–Inhibition Control Of Motor Neuronal Persistent Inward Currents In Young And Older Adults, Lucas B. R. Orssatto, Gabriel L. Fernandes, Anthony J. Blazevich, Gabriel S. Trajano

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

A well-coordinated facilitation–inhibition control of motor neuronal persistent inward currents (PICs) via diffuse neuromodulation and local inhibition is essential to ensure motor units discharge at required times and frequencies. Present best estimates indicate that PICs are reduced in older adults; however, it is not yet known whether PIC facilitation–inhibition control is also altered with ageing. We investigated the responses of PICs to (i) a remote handgrip contraction, which is believed to diffusely increase serotonergic input onto motor neurones, and (ii) tendon vibration of the antagonist muscle, which elicits reciprocal inhibition, in young and older adults. High-density surface electromyograms were collected …


Concurrent Exposure To (Acute Intermittent) Hypoxia And Hypercapnia: A Promising Therapeutic Cocktail For Neuroplasticity?, Ricardo N. O. Mesquita Jul 2022

Concurrent Exposure To (Acute Intermittent) Hypoxia And Hypercapnia: A Promising Therapeutic Cocktail For Neuroplasticity?, Ricardo N. O. Mesquita

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Pioneering experiments revealed that intermittent stimulation of afferent neurons from the carotid bodies elicits long-lasting increased activity of respiratory nerves, a phenomenon known as respiratory long-term facilitation (LTF). Initially observed with episodic electrical stimulation of the carotid sinus nerve, this phenomenon was then extensively demonstrated in rodent experiments via protocols of brief, episodic exposures to periods of hypoxia (i.e. acute intermittent hypoxia; AIH). Then, the realization that AIH could be used as a therapeutic modality to induce neuroplasticity and restore both respiratory and non-respiratory motor function in rats with spinal cord injuries (SCI) motivated translation to human studies. AIH has …