scholarly journals Functional role of exercise-induced cortical organization of sensorimotor cortex after spinal transection

2011 ◽  
Vol 106 (5) ◽  
pp. 2662-2674 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Kao ◽  
J. S. Shumsky ◽  
E. B. Knudsen ◽  
M. Murray ◽  
K. A. Moxon
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Neuronal Activity ◽  
Functional Recovery ◽  
Cortical Neurons ◽  
The Body ◽  
Cortical Reorganization ◽  
Neuron Activity ◽  
Adult Rats ◽  
Cortical Organization ◽  
Cord Injury

Spinal cord transection silences neuronal activity in the deafferented cortex to cutaneous stimulation of the body and untreated animals show no improvement in functional outcome (weight-supported stepping) with time after lesion. However, adult rats spinalized since neonates that receive exercise therapy exhibit greater functional recovery and exhibit more cortical reorganization. This suggests that the change in the somatotopic organization of the cortex may be functionally relevant. To address this issue, we chronically implanted arrays of microwire electrodes into the infragranular layers of the hindlimb somatosensory cortex of adult rats neonatally transected at T8/T9 that received exercise training (spinalized rats) and of normal adult rats. Multiple, single neuron activity was recorded during passive sensory stimulation, when the animals were anesthetized, and during active sensorimotor stimulation during treadmill-induced locomotion when the animal was awake and free to move. Our results demonstrate that cortical neurons recorded from the spinalized rats that received exercise 1) had higher spontaneous firing rates, 2) were more likely to respond to both sensory and sensorimotor stimulations of the forelimbs, and also 3) responded with more spikes per stimulus than those recorded from normal rats, suggesting expansion of the forelimb map into the hindlimb map. During treadmill locomotion the activity of neurons recorded from neonatally spinalized rats was greater during weight-supported steps on the treadmill compared with the neuronal activity during nonweight supported steps. We hypothesize that this increased activity is related to the ability of the animal to take weight supported steps and that, therefore, these changes in cortical organization after spinal cord injury are relevant for functional recovery.

DNA vaccine against NgR promotes functional recovery after spinal cord injury in adult rats

2007 ◽  
Vol 1147 ◽  
pp. 66-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Panpan Yu ◽  
Lidong Huang ◽  
Jian Zou ◽  
Huiqing Zhu ◽  
Xiaofei Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Dna Vaccine ◽  
Functional Recovery ◽  
Adult Rats ◽  
Cord Injury

DHAM-BMSC Matrix Promotes Axonal Regeneration and Functional Recovery After Spinal Cord Injury in Adult Rats

2009 ◽  
pp. 110306202455053
Author(s):  
Hongsheng Liang ◽  
Peng Liang ◽  
Ye Xu ◽  
Jianing Wu ◽  
Tao Liang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Functional Recovery ◽  
Axonal Regeneration ◽  
Adult Rats ◽  
Cord Injury

scholarly journals Cortex-dependent recovery of unassisted hindlimb locomotion after complete spinal cord injury in adult rats

eLife ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anitha Manohar ◽  
Guglielmo Foffani ◽  
Patrick D Ganzer ◽  
John R Bethea ◽  
Karen A Moxon
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Cortical Reorganization ◽  
Sensory Cortex ◽  
Adult Rats ◽  
Weight Support ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
Recovery Strategies ◽  
Physical Therapies ◽  
Complete Spinal Cord Injury

After paralyzing spinal cord injury the adult nervous system has little ability to ‘heal’ spinal connections, and it is assumed to be unable to develop extra-spinal recovery strategies to bypass the lesion. We challenge this assumption, showing that completely spinalized adult rats can recover unassisted hindlimb weight support and locomotion without explicit spinal transmission of motor commands through the lesion. This is achieved with combinations of pharmacological and physical therapies that maximize cortical reorganization, inducing an expansion of trunk motor cortex and forepaw sensory cortex into the deafferented hindlimb cortex, associated with sprouting of corticospinal axons. Lesioning the reorganized cortex reverses the recovery. Adult rats can thus develop a novel cortical sensorimotor circuit that bypasses the lesion, probably through biomechanical coupling, to partly recover unassisted hindlimb locomotion after complete spinal cord injury.

DHAM-BMSC Matrix Promotes Axonal Regeneration and Functional Recovery after Spinal Cord Injury in Adult Rats

2009 ◽  
Vol 26 (10) ◽  
pp. 1745-1757 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongsheng Liang ◽  
Peng Liang ◽  
Ye Xu ◽  
Jianing Wu ◽  
Tao Liang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Functional Recovery ◽  
Axonal Regeneration ◽  
Adult Rats ◽  
Cord Injury

scholarly journals Cortical AAV-CNTF Gene Therapy Combined with Intraspinal Mesenchymal Precursor Cell Transplantation Promotes Functional and Morphological Outcomes after Spinal Cord Injury in Adult Rats

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart I. Hodgetts ◽  
Jun Han Yoon ◽  
Alysia Fogliani ◽  
Emmanuel A. Akinpelu ◽  
Danii Baron-Heeris ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Gene Therapy ◽  
Cortical Neurons ◽  
Viral Vector ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Adult Rats ◽  
F344 Rat ◽  
Mesenchymal Precursor Cells ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
Mesenchymal Precursor

Ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) promotes survival and enhances long-distance regeneration of injured axons in parts of the adult CNS. Here we tested whether CNTF gene therapy targeting corticospinal neurons (CSN) in motor-related regions of the cerebral cortex promotes plasticity and regrowth of axons projecting into the female adult F344 rat spinal cord after moderate thoracic (T10) contusion injury (SCI). Cortical neurons were transduced with a bicistronic adeno-associated viral vector (AAV1) expressing a secretory form of CNTF coupled to mCHERRY (AAV-CNTFmCherry) or with control AAV only (AAV-GFP) two weeks prior to SCI. In some animals, viable or nonviable F344 rat mesenchymal precursor cells (rMPCs) were injected into the lesion site two weeks after SCI to modulate the inhibitory environment. Treatment with AAV-CNTFmCherry, as well as with AAV-CNTFmCherry combined with rMPCs, yielded functional improvements over AAV-GFP alone, as assessed by open-field and Ladderwalk analyses. Cyst size was significantly reduced in the AAV-CNTFmCherry plus viable rMPC treatment group. Cortical injections of biotinylated dextran amine (BDA) revealed more BDA-stained axons rostral and alongside cysts in the AAV-CNTFmCherry versus AAV-GFP groups. After AAV-CNTFmCherry treatments, many sprouting mCherry-immunopositive axons were seen rostral to the SCI, and axons were also occasionally found caudal to the injury site. These data suggest that CNTF has the potential to enhance corticospinal repair by transducing parent CNS populations.

scholarly journals Trunk sensory and motor cortex is preferentially integrated with hindlimb sensory information that supports trunk stabilization

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bharadwaj Nandakumar ◽  
Gary H. Blumenthal ◽  
Francois Philippe Pauzin ◽  
Karen A. Moxon
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Motor Cortex ◽  
Postural Control ◽  
Functional Recovery ◽  
Sensorimotor Integration ◽  
Cortical Reorganization ◽  
Sensory Cortex ◽  
Proprioceptive Information ◽  
Cord Injury

AbstractSensorimotor integration in the trunk system has been poorly studied despite its importance for examining functional recovery after neurological injury or disease. Here, we mapped the relationship between thoracic dorsal root ganglia and trunk sensory cortex (S1) to create a detailed map of the extent and internal organization of trunk primary sensory cortex, and trunk primary motor cortex (M1) and showed that both cortices are somatotopically complex structures that are larger than previously described. Surprisingly, projections from trunk S1 to trunk M1 were not anatomically organized. We found relatively weak sensorimotor integration between trunk M1 and S1 and between trunk M1 and forelimb S1 compared to extensive integration between trunk M1 and hindlimb S1 and M1. This strong trunk/hindlimb connection was identified for high intensity stimuli that activated proprioceptive pathways. To assess the implication of this integration, the responses in sensorimotor cortex were examined during a postural control task and supported sensorimotor integration between hindlimb sensory and lower trunk motor cortex. Together, these data suggest that trunk M1 is guided predominately by hindlimb proprioceptive information that reached the cortex directly via the thalamus. This unique sensorimotor integration suggests an essential role for the trunk system in postural control, and its consideration could be important for understanding studies regarding recovery of function after spinal cord injury.SignificanceThis work identifies extensive sensorimotor integration between trunk and hindlimb cortices, demonstrating that sensorimotor integration is an operational mode of the trunk cortex in intact animals. The functional role of this integration was demonstrated for postural control when the animal was subjected to lateral tilts. Furthermore, these results provide insight into cortical reorganization after spinal cord injury making clear that sensorimotor integration after SCI is an attempt to restore sensorimotor integration that existed in the intact system. These results could be used to tailor rehabilitative strategies to optimize sensorimotor integration for functional recovery.

scholarly journals Tetradecyl 2,3-dihydroxybenzoate promotes functional recovery after spinal cord injury in adult rats

2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Y.M. Ding ◽  
J.Y. Zhu ◽  
S.J. Zhang ◽  
S.S. Zhang ◽  
C. Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Functional Recovery ◽  
Adult Rats ◽  
Cord Injury
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