The SMN1 gene provides instructions for making the survival motor neuron (SMN) protein. The SMN protein is found throughout the body, with highest levels in the spinal cord. This protein is one of a group of proteins called the SMN complex, which is important for the maintenance of specialized nerve cells called motor neurons. These cells are located in the spinal cord and the part of the brain that is connected to the spinal cord (the brainstem). Motor neurons transmit signals from the brain and spinal cord that tell skeletal muscles to tense (contract), which allows the body to move.~In cells, the SMN complex plays an important role in processing molecules called messenger RNA (mRNA), which serve as genetic blueprints for making proteins. Messenger RNA begins as a rough draft (pre-mRNA) and goes through several processing steps to become a final, mature form. The SMN complex helps to assemble the cellular machinery needed to process pre-mRNA. The SMN complex is also important for the development of specialized outgrowths from nerve cells called dendrites and axons. Dendrites and axons are required for the transmission of impulses between neurons and from neurons to muscles.~A small amount of SMN protein is produced from a gene similar to SMN1 called SMN2. Several different versions of the SMN protein are produced from the SMN2 gene, but only one version is functional; the other versions are smaller and quickly broken down.