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Project

Neurocircuit signatures of age-dependent locomotor circuit plasticity after spinal cord injury.

Spinal cord injury instantaneously and dramatically alters a person’s way of living by disconnecting nerve signals from the brain to the spinal cord, hindering one’s ability to move. The damage is often irreversible, and patients very often face long lasting motor dysfunctions. Spinal cord injured patients and experimental animals recover significantly more when they are injured at a young age. Such recovery is not due to axon regeneration bridging the brain and the spinal cord. It is, therefore, important to understand what key factors within the spinal cord differentiate the extent of locomotor recovery depending on the age of injury. We will use mice as a model organism as it allows us to study a specific nerve cell-type using genetic techniques combined with advanced virus-mediated technologies to visualize location of nerve cells, and cell-to-cell connections as well as manipulate functions. This approach is great for understanding where spinal cord neurons important for recovery are located, how they are connected with each other and what exactly they do below injury. We will also determine gene expressions that differ depending on the age of injury. Identification of fundamental reasons for age-dependent plasticity within the spinal cord will allow for focal targeting, provide a logical basis and advance efficacy of future therapeutic interventions, especially in the field of neurorehabilitation using locomotor training and electrical stimulation.

Date:1 Jan 2020 →  31 Dec 2023
Keywords:Neurocircuit signatures, age-dependent locomotor circuit plasticity, spinal cord
Disciplines:Neurosciences not elsewhere classified, Neuroanatomy