ReviewClinical neurophysiology : official journal of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology2009
Motoneuron excitability: the importance of neuromodulatory inputs.
Review in Clinical neurophysiology : official journal of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology, 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT07226284 (The Effects of Vagus Nerve Stimulation on Intrinsic Lower Leg Spinal Motoneuron Excitability in Parkinson's Disease.), which is not on this map. Cited by 121 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
The Effects of Vagus Nerve Stimulation on Intrinsic Lower Leg Spinal Motoneuron Excitability in Parkinson's Disease.
Who cites it
121 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 269 citations in OpenAlex.
- Dopamine agonists for restless legs syndrome.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2011Pooled it
- Determining the cortical, corticospinal, and reticulospinal responses to metronome-paced and self-paced strength training.European journal of applied physiology · 2026Trial
- Ischemic conditioning increases strength and volitional activation of paretic muscle in chronic stroke: a pilot study.Journal of applied physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985) · 2018Trial
- Motor unit discharge rates of the anconeus muscle during high-velocity elbow extensions.Experimental brain research · 2011Trial
- Muscle cramp susceptibility is associated with muscle-specific modulation of human motoneuron discharge patterns.Experimental physiology · 2026Article
- Differential changes in the effective neural drive following new motor skill acquisition between vastus lateralis and medialis.European journal of applied physiology · 2026Article
- Estimation of persistent inward currents contribution to inspiratory motoneuron firing in humans.The Journal of physiology · 2026Article
- Reverse engineering of motor unit discharge in multiple sclerosis reveals heterogeneity of voluntary motor commands.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026Article
- Spasticity and Abnormal Tone Regulation After Spinal Cord Injury: Mechanisms and the Effects of Neuromodulation.Biomedicines · 2026Review
- Isometric handgrip contraction increases tibialis anterior intrinsic motoneuron excitability in a dose-dependent manner.Experimental physiology · 2026Article
- Motor unit discharge properties are modestly influenced by menstrual cycle-related fluctuations in sex hormone concentrations.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Analysis of motor units with high-density surface electromyography: methodological considerations and physiological significance.European journal of applied physiology · 2026Review
- Neuromuscular mechanisms for the fast decline in rate of force development with muscle disuse - a narrative review.The Journal of physiology · 2026Review
- Effects of arm-cycling exercise during triceps surae neuromuscular electrical stimulation on torque output and fatigue.European journal of applied physiology · 2026Article
- Personalized mapping of inhibitory spinal cord circuits in humans via noninvasive neural decoding and in silico modeling.Science advances · 2025Article
- Ionic Mechanisms Underlying Bistability in Spinal Motoneurons: Insights from a Computational Model.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Targeting the serotonergic system in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases-emerging therapies and unmet challenges.Pharmacological reviews · 2025Review
- Pathophysiology of voluntary motor commands at the level of the spinal motoneuron in patients with multiple sclerosis.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2025Article
- Motor unit adaptation to disuse: crossing the threshold from firing rate suppression to neuromuscular junction transmission.The Journal of physiology · 2025Review
- A novel protocol to investigate the monoaminergic relationship between descending nociceptive and motor unit neuromodulation.Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. Annual International Conference · 2025Article
61 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
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 classic mechanism is mediated by synaptic inputs that depolarize or hyperpolarize motoneurons by generating postsynaptic potentials. This "ionotropic" mechanism works via neurotransmitters that open ion channels in the cell membrane. In the second mechanism, neurotransmitters bind to receptors that activate intracellular signaling pathways. These pathways modulate the properties of the voltage-sensitive channels that determine the intrinsic input-output properties of motoneurons. This "neuromodulatory" mechanism usually does not directly activate motoneurons but instead dramatically alters the neuron's response to ionotropic inputs. We present extensive evidence that neuromodulatory inputs exert a much more powerful effect on motoneuron excitability than ionotropic inputs. The most potent neuromodulators are probably serotonin and norepinephrine, which are released by axons originating in the brainstem and can increase motoneuron excitability fivefold or more. Thus, the standard tests of motoneuron excitability (H-reflexes, tendon taps, tendon vibration and stretch reflexes) are strongly influenced by the level of neuromodulatory input to motoneurons. This insight is likely to be profoundly important for clinical diagnosis and treatment.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.