Spinal motoneurons provide the output for all motor commands and thus receive inputs from many different motor systems in the CNS, both supraspinal and sensory. Motoneurons connect directly to muscle fibers and motoneuron action potentials are one to one with their muscle fiber action potentials. Because muscle fiber action potentials are easy to assess in human subjects, motoneurons are the only neurons in the CNS whose firing patterns can be readily measured in human subjects. These motoneuron firing patterns have the potential to provide deep insights into function in CNS motor systems in humans, in both normal and disease states. Over that past 9 years, a series of international meetings on motoneurons have been implemented with the goal of bringing together researchers who study cellular mechanism of motoneuron firing patterns in animal preparations with researchers who study motoneuron firing patterns in human subjects. This proposal is for travel support for trainees (post-docs and students) to attend the 6th meeting in this series, entitled """"""""Towards Translational Research in Motoneurons"""""""". These motoneuron meetings have alternated between the United States and Europe from their inception in 2000. The interactions at these meeting have been essential in a number of advances that now bring the field to the threshold of true translational work to develop new therapies. This is the primary focus of the meeting that will occur at Universit? Paris Descartes, Paris, France in the summer of 2010 (July 9-13). The meeting has become very popular and offers many opportunities for presentations and discussions for trainees.
Motoneurons are the only cells in the CNS whose firing pattern can be measured in human subjects. The 6th international meeting on motoneuron, which will take place in the summer of 2010 at the University of Paris, provides trainees with many opportunities for presentation and discussion motoneurons in normal and disease states. This proposal seeks travel support for this purpose.
