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Dual Cortical Plasticity After Spinal Cord Injury
Desire Humanes-Valera1,2, Guglielmo Foffani1,3, Elena Alonso-Calviño1
1Hospital Nacional de Parapléjicos, Servicio de Salud de Castilla-La Mancha, 45071 Toledo, Spain.
Cerebral Cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)
|May 27, 2016
Summary
Adult cortical plasticity after spinal cord injury shows a surprising decrease in fast responses but an increase in slow cortical activation, offering a dual perspective on brain reorganization.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Neuroplasticity
- Spinal Cord Injury Research
Background:
- Cortical plasticity involves balancing synaptic sprouting and pruning for functional connectivity.
- Adult cortical deafferentation typically leads to increased functional connectivity and expansive reorganization.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate adult cortical plasticity following complete thoracic spinal cord transection.
- To characterize changes in cortical responses to forepaw stimulation after spinal cord injury.
Main Methods:
- Local field potentials and intracellular in vivo recordings were used.
- High-intensity forepaw stimulation was applied 1-3 months post-transection.
- Forepaw-to-hindpaw propagation of stimulus-triggered cortical up-states was analyzed.
Main Results:
- A significant decrease in fast cortical responses to forepaw stimulation was observed.
- An increase in cortical activation over slower timescales was evident.
- Enhanced slow sustained depolarization was noted in the deafferented hindpaw cortex.
Conclusions:
- Adult cortical plasticity after spinal cord injury presents a dual pattern: diminished fast responses alongside enhanced slow activation.
- This dual perspective challenges traditional views of expansive reorganization post-deafferentation.
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