Jabarkan Punca dari Penyakit motor neuron dalam bahasa melayu

Kira-kira 90% kes MND adalah sporadik, bermakna pesakit tidak mempunyai sejarah keluarga ALS, dan kes itu nampaknya berlaku tanpa sebab yang diketahui. Faktor genetik disyaki penting dalam menentukan kerentanan individu terhadap penyakit, dan terdapat beberapa bukti lemah yang menunjukkan bahawa permulaan boleh "dicetuskan" oleh faktor persekitaran yang belum diketahui (lihat 'Epidemiologi' di bawah).

Kira-kira 10% daripada kes adalah "MND keluarga", ditakrifkan sama ada oleh sejarah keluarga MND atau dengan ujian positif bagi mutasi genetik yang diketahui berkaitan dengan penyakit tersebut. Gen berikut diketahui dikaitkan dengan ALS: Cu/Zn superoksida dismutase , ,  (sebilangan kecil kes), senataksin () dan vesikel berkaitan protein B ().

Of these, SOD1 mutations account for some 20% of familial MND cases. The SOD1 gene codes for the enzyme superoxide dismutase, a free radical scavenger that reduces the oxidative stress of cells throughout the body. So far over 100 different mutations in the SOD1 gene have been found, all of which cause some form of ALS(ALSOD database). In North America, the most commonly occurring mutation is known as A4Vand occurs in up to 50% of SOD1 cases. In people of Scandinavian extraction there is a relatively benign mutation called D90A which is associated with a slow progression. In Japan, the H46R mutation is most common. G93A, the mutation used to generate the first animal model (and by far the most widely studied), is present only in a few families worldwide. Future research is concentrating on identifying new genetic mutations and the clinical syndrome associated with them. Familial MND may also confer a higher risk of developing cognitive changes such as frontotemporal dementia or executive dysfunction (see 'extra-motor change in MND' below).

It is thought that SOD1 mutations confer a toxic gain, rather than a loss, of function to the enzyme. SOD1 mutations may increase the propensity for the enzyme to form protein aggregates which are toxic to nerve cells.