Key result
Female motor units exhibit greater self-sustained firing than males, suggesting intrinsic excitability is established early.
Why the study?
Are there sex-related differences in motoneuron firing behavior during typical development?
Observational
Are there sex-related differences in motoneuron firing behavior during typical development?
Female motor units exhibit greater self-sustained firing than males across development, suggesting intrinsic motoneuron excitability is established early and independent of sex hormone levels.
Hypothesis-generating for early sex differences in motoneuron excitability; longitudinal studies needed to clarify functional relevance.
The intrinsic excitability of tibialis anterior (TA) motoneurons was compared between males and females before (7-17 yr) and during (18-28 yr) adulthood. Female motor units exhibited greater self-sustained firing compared with males in both the pre-adult and adult groups, suggesting the intrinsic excitability of motoneurons is established early in life and may not be tightly dependent on the level of sex hormones, unlike the number of decomposed motor units that reflect muscle size.
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Yacyshyn et al. (2025) conducted an observational in Typical development. Female sex vs. Male sex was evaluated on Intrinsic excitability of tibialis anterior (TA) motoneurons (self-sustained firing). Female motor units exhibited greater self-sustained firing compared with males in both pre-adult and adult groups, suggesting intrinsic excitability is established early in life.
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