scholarly journals Activity-Dependent Plasticity of Spinal Circuits in the Developing and Mature Spinal Cord

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Behdad Tahayori ◽  
David M. Koceja
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Developmental Stages ◽  
Morphological Changes ◽  
Large Diameter ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Ample Evidence ◽  
Plastic Changes ◽  
Activity Dependent ◽  
The Brain

Part of the development and maturation of the central nervous system (CNS) occurs through interactions with the environment. Through physical activities and interactions with the world, an animal receives considerable sensory information from various sources. These sources can be internally (proprioceptive) or externally (such as touch and pressure) generated senses. Ample evidence exists to demonstrate that the sensory information originating from large diameter afferents (Ia fibers) have an important role in inducing essential functional and morphological changes for the maturation of both the brain and the spinal cord. The Ia fibers transmit sensory information generated by muscle activity and movement. Such use or activity-dependent plastic changes occur throughout life and are one reason for the ability to acquire new skills and learn new movements. However, the extent and particularly the mechanisms of activity-dependent changes are markedly different between a developing nervous system and a mature nervous system. Understanding these mechanisms is an important step to develop strategies for regaining motor function after different injuries to the CNS. Plastic changes induced by activity occur both in the brain and spinal cord. This paper reviews the activity-dependent changes in the spinal cord neural circuits during both the developmental stages of the CNS and in adulthood.

Symptoms, Related Brain Regions, and Diagnosis

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Eric Ahlskog
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Basal Ganglia ◽  
Brain Stem ◽  
Muscle Activation ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Electrical Signal ◽  
Brain And Spinal Cord ◽  
The Brain

As a prelude to the treatment chapters that follow, we need to define and describe the types of problems and symptoms encountered in DLB and PDD. The clinical picture can be quite varied: problems encountered by one person may be quite different from those encountered by another person, and symptoms that are problematic in one individual may be minimal in another. In these disorders, the Lewy neurodegenerative process potentially affects certain nervous system regions but spares others. Affected areas include thinking and memory circuits, as well as movement (motor) function and the autonomic nervous system, which regulates primary functions such as bladder, bowel, and blood pressure control. Many other brain regions, by contrast, are spared or minimally involved, such as vision and sensation. The brain and spinal cord constitute the central nervous system. The interface between the brain and spinal cord is by way of the brain stem, as shown in Figure 4.1. Thought, memory, and reasoning are primarily organized in the thick layers of cortex overlying lower brain levels. Volitional movements, such as writing, throwing, or kicking, also emanate from the cortex and integrate with circuits just below, including those in the basal ganglia, shown in Figure 4.2. The basal ganglia includes the striatum, globus pallidus, subthalamic nucleus, and substantia nigra, as illustrated in Figure 4.2. Movement information is integrated and modulated in these basal ganglia nuclei and then transmitted down the brain stem to the spinal cord. At spinal cord levels the correct sequence of muscle activation that has been programmed is accomplished. Activated nerves from appropriate regions of the spinal cord relay the signals to the proper muscles. Sensory information from the periphery (limbs) travels in the opposite direction. How are these signals transmitted? Brain cells called neurons have long, wire-like extensions that interface with other neurons, effectively making up circuits that are slightly similar to computer circuits; this is illustrated in Figure 4.3. At the end of these wire-like extensions are tiny enlargements (terminals) that contain specific biological chemicals called neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters are released when the electrical signal travels down that neuron to the end of that wire-like process.

scholarly journals Sampling and Evaluating the Peripheral Nervous System

2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark T. Butt
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Sciatic Nerve ◽  
Peripheral Nervous System ◽  
Morphological Changes ◽  
Sampling Strategy ◽  
Mechanisms Of Toxicity ◽  
Test Article ◽  
Ganglion Neurons ◽  
The Brain

Many preclinical investigations limit the evaluation of the peripheral nervous system (PNS) to paraffin-embedded sections/hematoxylin and eosin–stained sections of the sciatic nerve. This limitation ignores several key mechanisms of toxicity and anatomic differences that may interfere with an accurate assessment of test article effects on the neurons/neurites peripheral to the brain and spinal cord. Ganglion neurons may be exposed to higher concentrations of the test article as compared to neurons in the brain or spinal cord due to differences in capillary permeability. Many peripheral neuropathies are length-dependent, meaning distal nerves may show morphological changes before they are evident in the mid-sciatic nerve. Paraffin-embedded nerves are not optimal to assess myelin changes, notably those leading to demyelination. Differentiating between axonal or myelin degeneration may not be possible from the examination of paraffin-embedded sections. A sampling strategy more consistent with known mechanisms of toxicity, atraumatic harvest of tissues, optimized fixation, and the use of resin and paraffin-embedded sections will greatly enhance the pathologist’s ability to observe and characterize effects in the PNS.

scholarly journals Dual-Viral Transduction Utilizing Highly Efficient Retrograde Lentivirus Improves Labeling of Long Propriospinal Neurons

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brandon L. Brown ◽  
Rachel M. Zalla ◽  
Courtney T. Shepard ◽  
Russell M. Howard ◽  
Jonathan A. Kopechek ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Neuronal Population ◽  
Rat Spinal Cord ◽  
Adeno Associated Virus ◽  
Motor Behaviors ◽  
Highly Efficient ◽  
Propriospinal Neurons ◽  
The Brain

The nervous system coordinates pathways and circuits to process sensory information and govern motor behaviors. Mapping these pathways is important to further understand the connectivity throughout the nervous system and is vital for developing treatments for neuronal diseases and disorders. We targeted long ascending propriospinal neurons (LAPNs) in the rat spinal cord utilizing Fluoro-Ruby (FR) [10kD rhodamine dextran amine (RDA)], and two dual-viral systems. Dual-viral tracing utilizing a retrograde adeno-associated virus (retroAAV), which confers robust labeling in the brain, resulted in a small number of LAPNs being labeled, but dual-viral tracing using a highly efficient retrograde (HiRet) lentivirus provided robust labeling similar to FR. Additionally, dual-viral tracing with HiRet lentivirus and tracing with FR may preferentially label different subpopulations of LAPNs. These data demonstrate that dual-viral tracing in the spinal cord employing a HiRet lentivirus provides robust and specific labeling of LAPNs and emphasizes the need to empirically optimize viral systems to target specific neuronal population(s).

scholarly journals IX . Researches on the intimate structure of the brain.—Second series

1868 ◽  
Vol 158 ◽  
pp. 263-331 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Medulla Oblongata ◽  
Morphological Changes ◽  
The Other ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Close Study ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The One ◽  
The Brain

Before I begin to describe the parts which form the subject of this communication, and to show how some of them are merely modified portions or developments of others that belong to the medulla oblongata , it will be advisable to recur to those morphological changes in the medulla, which I formerly pointed out as themselves arising from modifications of the spinal cord . And while in unravelling structures so extremely complex, such a course seems almost necessary to facilitate their comprehension, and convey to the reader a just notion of their morphological changes, in relation on the one hand, to the remaining parts of the encephalon, and on the other hand, to the spinal cord, it will afford me an opportunity of adding to this recapitulation some new facts that have been elicited by subsequent observation and a more extended experience. It is gratifying to know that many of the results of my previous researches have been found to throw considerable light on certain diseases of the nervous system, especially on some forms of paralysis; and my own pathological investigations, as well as a close study of nervous disorders, have not only enabled me to shape my present researches as much as possible in accordance with the requirements of the pathologist, but, by pointing to the probability of certain anatomical connexions suggested by morbid symptoms, they have sometimes been the means of directing the course of my dissections in a very peculiar way.

Central Nerve System Impairment, AMA Guides, Sixth Edition: An Overview

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-13
Author(s):  
James B. Talmage ◽  
Jay Blaisdell
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Neurological Impairment ◽  
Sixth Edition ◽  
Central Nerve System ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
The One ◽  
Nerve System ◽  
The Brain

Abstract Injuries that affect the central nervous system (CNS) can be catastrophic because they involve the brain or spinal cord, and determining the underlying clinical cause of impairment is essential in using the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (AMA Guides), in part because the AMA Guides addresses neurological impairment in several chapters. Unlike the musculoskeletal chapters, Chapter 13, The Central and Peripheral Nervous System, does not use grades, grade modifiers, and a net adjustment formula; rather the chapter uses an approach that is similar to that in prior editions of the AMA Guides. The following steps can be used to perform a CNS rating: 1) evaluate all four major categories of cerebral impairment, and choose the one that is most severe; 2) rate the single most severe cerebral impairment of the four major categories; 3) rate all other impairments that are due to neurogenic problems; and 4) combine the rating of the single most severe category of cerebral impairment with the ratings of all other impairments. Because some neurological dysfunctions are rated elsewhere in the AMA Guides, Sixth Edition, the evaluator may consult Table 13-1 to verify the appropriate chapter to use.

Some Points in the Histology of Lymphogenous and Hæmatogenous Toxic Lesions of the Spinal Cord

1908 ◽  
Vol 54 (226) ◽  
pp. 560-561
Author(s):  
David Orr ◽  
R. G. Rows
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Sciatic Nerve ◽  
Morphological Type ◽  
Broth Culture ◽  
Anatomical Distribution ◽  
Tabes Dorsalis ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
The Brain

At a quarterly meeting of this Association held last year at Nottingham, we showed the results of our experiments with toxins upon the spinal cord and brain of rabbits. Our main conclusion was, that the central nervous system could be infected by toxins passing up along the lymph channels of the perineural sheath. The method we employed in our experiments consisted in placing a celloidin capsule filled with a broth culture of an organism under the sciatic nerve or under the skin of the cheek; and we invariably found a resulting degeneration in the spinal cord or brain, according to the situation of the capsule. These lesions we found to be identical in morphological type and anatomical distribution with those found in the cord of early tabes dorsalis and in the brain and cord of general paralysis of the insane. The conclusion suggested by our work was that these two diseases, if toxic, were most probably infections of lymphogenous origin.

Ten Million and One—Neurological Disability as a National Problem

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1958 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 871-872
Author(s):  
ERIC DENHOFF
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
New York ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Highly Qualified ◽  
Neurological Disability ◽  
The Brain

This monograph summarizes the results of the Conference on Neurological Disability as a National Problem held at Arden House, Harriman, New York, in December, 1955. It was attended by more than 50 highly qualified specialists with various interests in the field who met to explore the realistic possibilities of meeting the problems posed by more than 10 million patients suffering from more than 300 clinical entities loosely grouped together as "neurologic disabilities." Neurologic disabilities are defined as those disorders which are associated demonstrably with dysfunction, disease, or injury of the nervous system, the brain, the spinal cord, and the peripheral neuromuscular connections.

Neurosurgery nursing

2020 ◽  
pp. 279-352
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Spinal Surgery ◽  
Deep Brain Stimulator ◽  
Disease Symptoms ◽  
Knowledge And Skills ◽  
Vagal Nerve Stimulator ◽  
Neurological Conditions ◽  
The Brain

Neurosurgery describes the surgical treatment and management of various disease processes that target the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system. The specialty is wide and varied as increasing numbers of neurological conditions can now be improved following neurosurgery; for example, some types of epilepsy respond to the insertion of a vagal nerve stimulator, Parkinson’s disease symptoms can be diminished with a deep brain stimulator, and intractable back pain may be improved following spinal surgery. Practitioners must be equipped with the knowledge and skills to care for these patients and meet their immediate and long-term needs.

Neurodevelopment

2020 ◽  
pp. 91-100
Author(s):  
Karl Zilles ◽  
Nicola Palomero-Gallagher
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Neural Tube ◽  
Neural Plate ◽  
Adult Brain ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Specialized Region ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Rostral Part ◽  
Human Nervous System

The pre- and post-natal development of the human nervous system is briefly described, with special emphasis on the brain, particularly the cerebral and cerebellar cortices. The central nervous system originates from a specialized region of the ectoderm—the neural plate—which develops into the neural tube. The rostral part of the neural tube forms the adult brain, whereas the caudal part (behind the fifth somite) differentiates into the spinal cord. The embryonic brain has three vesicular enlargements: the forebrain, the midbrain, and the hindbrain. The histogenesis of the spinal cord, hindbrain, cerebellum, and cerebral cortex, including myelination, is discussed. The chapter closes with a description of the development of the hemispheric shape and the formation of gyri.

1. On the Anatomy of a new species of Polyodon, the Polyodon Gladius of Martens, taken from the river Yang-tsze-Kiang, 450 miles above Woosung. Part II., being its Nervous and Muscular Systems

1875 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 136-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. D. Handyside
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
New Species ◽  
Adult Fish ◽  
Entire Specimen ◽  
The Senses ◽  
The Brain ◽  
A New Species

The author showed to the Society a small entire specimen of the P. gladius, and next described, from a larger opened and dissected one, and from part of an adult fish, the spinal cord, the brain, the organs of the senses, and other parts of its nervous system. He illustrated his remarks by exhibiting four large drawings and nine smaller ones, including six microscopic views, explanatory of his description of the structure and disposition of the spino-cerebral axis, the encephalon as viewed from above and below, the ramifications of the encephalic nerves, and more particularly the structures subserving the senses of smell, sight, and hearing.

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