Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Preface
- Part I Physiology and pathophysiology of nerve fibres
- Part II Pain
- Part III Control of central nervous system output
- Part IV Development, survival, regeneration and death
- 36 Axonal growth and plasticity in the adult nervous system
- 37 Target dependence of motoneurones
- 38 Rescue of neurones cross-regenerated into foreign targets
- 39 Development and repair of neonatal mammalian spinal cord in culture
- 40 Selective neuronal vulnerability in motor neurone diseases with reference to sparing of Onuf's nucleus
- 41 Excitotoxicity in motor neurone diseases
- Index
38 - Rescue of neurones cross-regenerated into foreign targets
from Part IV - Development, survival, regeneration and death
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 04 August 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Preface
- Part I Physiology and pathophysiology of nerve fibres
- Part II Pain
- Part III Control of central nervous system output
- Part IV Development, survival, regeneration and death
- 36 Axonal growth and plasticity in the adult nervous system
- 37 Target dependence of motoneurones
- 38 Rescue of neurones cross-regenerated into foreign targets
- 39 Development and repair of neonatal mammalian spinal cord in culture
- 40 Selective neuronal vulnerability in motor neurone diseases with reference to sparing of Onuf's nucleus
- 41 Excitotoxicity in motor neurone diseases
- Index
Summary
Introduction
Injury to motor and sensory neurones of the peripheral nervous system alters their electrical properties. In addition, chronically axotomized group la muscle afferents no longer generate excitatory postsynaptic potentials in spinal motoneurones. However, peripheral neurones readily regenerate and reinnervate their native tissue, following which they recover largely or completely their normal properties and capabilities. In recent years we have been interested in the ability of neurones of the peripheral nervous system to innervate foreign tissue (i.e. motoneurones and muscle afferents into skin; cutaneous afferents into muscle) and in the consequences of such innervation on their properties and capabilities.
The description below reviews the results of these series of experiments. The methods used were generally similar, starting with a sterile surgical procedure in which the distal connections of nerves of adult cats' hindlimbs were altered. The muscle nerve to the medial gastrocnemius (MG) may have been axotomized and capped, or partly or fully cross-united distally to the caudal cutaneous sural (CCS) nerve (Fig. 38.1). The cutaneous sensory CCS nerve may have been axotomized and capped, or cross-united distally to part of the MG nerve. Properties of the cross-united afferents and motoneurones were studied in acute electrophysiological experiments (e.g. Zengel et al., 1985) 3–36 months later.
Response by motoneurones
Motoneurones of the cat's normal MG muscle have predictable values for conduction velocity (CV), input resistance (RN), rheobase (Irh) and after-hyperpolarization (AHP; Zengel et al., 1985).
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- The Neurobiology of DiseaseContributions from Neuroscience to Clinical Neurology, pp. 395 - 404Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1996