Long-term cortical consequences of reinnervation errors after nerve regeneration in monkeys

Sensory innervation patterns are commonly altered after nerve regeneration, but the long-term consequences of these peripheral changes on the central nervous system are not understood. We report here that when innervation patterns to the hands of two adult monkeys were changed by cross-repair of nerves, topographical features that were clearly related to the new innervation pattern remained apparent in primary somatosensory cortical area 3b as long as 2.9 years after repair. These findings indicate that peripheral innervation changes are not easily corrected by central circuits leading to primary cortex.