Transplants of purified astrocytes promote behavioral recovery after frontal cortex ablation

Ablation of the medial frontal cortex produces a learning deficit on a reinforced alternation task. Recovery from this deficit was significantly accelerated in rats by transplantation of either cultured purified astrocytes or Gelfoam that had remained the previous 5 days in a brain wound in another animal (wound-Gelfoam). Cell-free extracts of wound-Gelfoam did not enhance behavioral recovery. Embryonic frontal cortex was effective only if transplanted with a delay after ablation. It appears from these results that transplants can facilitate functional recovery by more than one mechanism, including promotion of survival and reactive synaptogenesis of host neurons, stabilization of the damaged environment and replacement of lost neurons. In this study, glial cells were capable of facilitating recovery from central nervous system damage to the same extent as neuronal transplants.