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Effects Of Abstraction And Assumptions On Modeling Motoneuron Pool Output, John Michael Allen
Effects Of Abstraction And Assumptions On Modeling Motoneuron Pool Output, John Michael Allen
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Computational modeling has long been used in neuroscience as a supplement to more traditional experimental techniques, as it provides some advantages in terms of the level and detail of control available over the system being studied. At the same time, modeling has significant disadvantages by virtue of adding additional uncertainty to results and forcing the definition of potentially unclear physiological mechanisms. Nevertheless, modeling can provide useful insights when carefully defined and constrained. In this thesis, a model of the a-MN pool innervating the cat medial gastrocnemius was constructed. This model was then used to address two major questions, one regarding …
Reorganization Of Ia Afferent Synapses On Motoneurons After Peripheral Nerve Injuries, Haley E. Titus
Reorganization Of Ia Afferent Synapses On Motoneurons After Peripheral Nerve Injuries, Haley E. Titus
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After peripheral nerve injuries patients lose and do not recover the stretch reflex which leads to altered locomotor function. The focus of this thesis is to investigate the structural integrity of the central connection between Ia afferents and alpha motoneurons that mediate the stretch reflex. The overall hypothesis is that the density and distribution of Ia synapses on motoneurons is altered after peripheral nerve injuries. Analysis of Ia afferent-motoneuron contacts, revealed by vesicular glutamate transporter 1 (VGLUT1) immunoreactivity, on the soma and dendritic arbor of motoneurons after peripheral nerve injuries revealed major reorganizations in the distribution and density of Ia …