Moter Nerves

In vertebrates, the term motor neuron (or

motoneuron) classically applies to neurons located in
the central nervous system (CNS) which project their
axons outside the CNS and directly or indirectly
control muscles. The term is synonymous with
efferent neurons.
Moto ne urons ar e
classi fied into thr ee
br oad ca te go ries

"Somatic motoneurons", which directly

innervate skeletal muscles, involved in
locomotion (such as muscles of the
limbs, abdominal and intercostal muscles
).
 “Special visceral motoneurons”

►
“Special visceral motoneurons” —
also called “branchial motoneurons”—
which directly innervate
branchial muscles (that motorize the
gills in fish and the face and neck in
land vertebrates
 “
General visceral motoneurons

”
“General visceral motoneurons” —
"visceral motoneurons" for short— which
indirectly innervate smooth muscles of the
viscera (like the heart, or the muscles of
the arteries): they synapse onto neurons
located in ganglia of the
autonomic nervous system (sympathetic
and parasympathetic), located in the
peripheral nervous system (PNS), which
themselves directly innervate visceral
muscles (and also some gland cells).
Neurotransmitters

Branch of NS Position Neurotransmitter

Somatic n/a Acetylcholine

Parasympathetic Preganglionic Acetylcholine

Parasympathetic Ganglionic Acetylcholine

Sympathetic Preganglionic Acetylcholine

Sympathetic Ganglionic Norepinephrine

 Function

• The interface between a motoneuron

and muscle fiber is a specialized
synapse called the
neuromuscular junction. Upon
adequate stimulation, the
motoneuron releases a flood of
neurotransmitters that bind to
postsynaptic receptors and triggers
a response in the muscle fiber.
 In invertebrates, depending on the
neurotransmitter released and the
type of receptor it binds, the
response in the muscle fiber could
either be excitatory or inhibitory
• For vertebrates, however, the
response of a muscle fiber to a
neurotransmitter can only be
excitatory, in other words,
contractile. Muscle relaxation and
inhibition of muscle contraction in
verterbrates is obtained only by
inhibition of the motoneuron itself.
This is why muscle relaxants work
by acting on the motoneurons that
innervate
 muscles (by decreasing their
electrophysiological activity) or on
cholinergic neuromuscular junctions, rather
than on the muscles themselves.
Thankyou