The cortical “upper motoneuron” in health and disease

Abstract

Upper motoneurons (UMNs) in motor areas of the cerebral cortex influence spinal and cranial motor mechanisms through the corticospinal tract (CST) and through projections to brainstem motor pathways. The primate corticospinal system has a diverse cortical origin and a wide spectrum of fibre diameters, including large diameter fibres which are unique to humans and other large primates. Direct cortico-motoneuronal (CM) projections from the motor cortex to arm and hand motoneurons are a late evolutionary feature only present in dexterous primates and best developed in humans. CM projections are derived from a more restricted cortical territory (‘new’ M1, area 3a) and arise not only from corticospinal neurons with large, fast axons but also from those with relatively slow-conducting axons. During movement, corticospinal neurons are organised and recruited quite differently from ‘lower’ motoneurons. Accumulating evidence strongly implicates the corticospinal system in the early stages of ALS, with particular involvement of CM projections to distal limb muscles, but also to other muscle groups influenced by the CM system. There are important species differences in the organisation and function of the corticospinal system, and appropriate animal models are needed to understand disorders involving the human corticospinal system.