motor neuron
3
3.9
- noun
- /ˈmoʊtər ˈnjʊərɒn/
- Specialized
- A lower motor neuron disorder is the most likely explanation because of the patient's flaccidness and atrophy.
- upper motor neurons
- lower motor neurons
- motor neuron disease
Loading YouTube…
Watch on YouTubeWe have special motor neurons to move these little bits, these bits, these bits.
- We have special motor neurons to move these little bits, these bits, these bits.
- And so one of the things we know happens with aging when we omit strength training or strength training like activities, those motor neurons and those muscle fibers die.
- And then those neurons have the ability to shut down, not activate but shut down motor neurons and to prevent the contraction of a given muscle.
- And he reaches over and I pass him the jacket and he fumbles because, you know, with motor neuron disease, you can't hold things properly.
Examples
-
Is the lesion at the upper motor neuron, the lower motor neuron, or at the muscle?
Academic text (1995) -
And we have two kinds of motor neurons there and I've shown the two kinds here.
-
The correct answer is upper motor neurons.
-
I'm sorry, you said "lower" motor neurons.
-
We'll send axons out those the motor neurons, OK?
-
We have special motor neurons to move these little bits, these bits, these bits.
-
In Britain, ALS is called motor neuron disease; in the United States, it is commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease.
Academic text (1991) -
Motor neuron disease (MND), or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, is a devastating degenerative disease of motor neurons.
Academic text (2000) -
Motor neuron disease (MND), or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, is a devastating degenerative disease of motor neurons.
Academic text (2000) -
The motor neuron carries signals from the brain to the muscles, allowing for movement.
Synonyms
82
4.3
A nerve cell that sends messages in the body
15
3.4
A cell that sends electrical signals to carry messages between the brain and body
1
8.4
A nerve cell that sends signals from the brain or spinal cord to muscles to make them move
1
7.4
Nerve cell that carries signals from the brain or spinal cord to muscles and glands
How Specialized
- Specialized
3
3.9
- Specialized
4
4.5
- Specialized
15
3.4
- Specialized
1
4.0
- Specialized
∞
2.1
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly recoverable from 'motor' (relating to movement or muscles) + 'neuron' (a nerve cell), so a learner who knows both words can infer it is a nerve cell involved in movement. This adjective+noun composition is a regular, cross-linguistically common pattern and does not require idiomatic knowledge, making it transparent to B1 learners.
Etymology
Motor neuron joins motor, a word for something that makes movement, and neuron, a 'nerve cell'. Think of it as a tiny driver that carries a message from the brain or spinal cord to a muscle to make it 'move', so the name means the nerve cell that makes muscles act.