Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Fatma Inanici, Lorie N. Brighton, Soshi Samejima, Christoph P. Hofstetter, Chet T. Moritz
Summary: Upper extremity paralysis post spinal cord injury greatly impacts independence and quality of life. Non-invasive transcutaneous electrical stimulation shows promising results in rapidly and sustainably restoring hand and arm function, reducing muscle spasticity, and improving autonomic functions. Long-term neuroplasticity may play a role in maintaining functional recovery beyond the stimulation period.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON NEURAL SYSTEMS AND REHABILITATION ENGINEERING
(2021)
Article
Psychology
Rowena Chin, Steve W. C. Chang, Avram J. Holmes
Summary: Human evolution is characterized by an increase in total brain volume relative to body size, particularly the expansion of association cortex. However, the majority of research on human brain evolution in the psychological sciences has focused solely on the cortex, neglecting the influence of other neural systems. This review challenges the mischaracterization of human cognition and behavior as a competition between recent cortical territories and ancient subcortical and cerebellar systems, proposing a comprehensive view of human brain evolution that has important implications for animal models, theory development, and network-focused approaches in studying behavior across health and disease.
PSYCHOLOGICAL REVIEW
(2023)
Article
Biology
Naoki Yamawaki, Martinna G. Raineri Tapies, Austin Stults, Gregory A. Smith, Gordon M. G. Shepherd
Summary: This study characterized excitatory connectivity along the pathways of sensory signals in the mouse, providing a detailed new wiring diagram for the hand/forelimb-related transcortical circuit. The findings reveal a complex set of cell-type-specific feedforward excitatory connections that link subcortical somatosensory input to cortical motor output to spinal cord.
Article
Neurosciences
Michael Schaefer, Anja Kuehnel, Franziska Rumpel, Matti Gaertner
Summary: Giving and receiving touch are important social stimuli in daily life. Previous studies have shown that touch can influence altruistic behavior. This study used functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate the neural mechanisms behind the Midas touch effect. The researchers found that touching the hand increased prosocial behavior, and this effect was associated with activity in the primary somatosensory cortex.
SOCIAL COGNITIVE AND AFFECTIVE NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Ajay Pal, HongGeun Park, Aditya Ramamurthy, Ahmet S. Asan, Thelma Bethea, Meenu Johnkutty, Jason B. Carmel
Summary: In this study, the researchers developed a plasticity protocol in rats that aims to activate both sensory and motor connections in the spinal cord. They found that repeated application of this protocol in rats with spinal cord injury improved their forelimb dexterity and reduced hyperreflexia. This study shows the importance of targeting the sensory and motor systems in the spinal cord for promoting recovery after spinal cord injury.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ju Young Lee, Andreas F. Mack, Thomas Shiozawa, Renata Longo, Giuliana Tromba, Klaus Scheffler, Gisela E. Hagberg
Summary: In this study, a new method using edge-based segmentation was employed to extract the 3D microvasculature from unstained human brain tissue. The results revealed distinctive types of blood vessels in the superior colliculi and provided measurements of vessel diameter, length, and volume fraction. This method opens up new possibilities for investigating vascular research of the central nervous system.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Esra Candar, Ibrahim Demircubuk, Gulgun Sengul
Summary: Swedish neuroscientist Bror Anders Rexed was known for his works on the organization of the cat spinal cord and his influence on health policies in Sweden. His name has become synonymous with the Rexed laminae, a landmark in the study of spinal cord cytoarchitecture. This article focuses on his contributions to the understanding of the central and peripheral nervous systems, as well as his translational approaches in neurosurgery.
Article
Neurosciences
V. Reggie Edgerton, Susan Hastings, Parag N. Gad
Summary: Children with cerebral palsy have dysfunctional neural networks largely due to abnormal muscle activation patterns, such as spasticity, reflecting abnormal spinal-supraspinal connectivity. The study suggests that reorganization of spinal-supraspinal connectivity towards higher functionality can be achieved through non-invasive methods by utilizing the existing peripheral proprioception-cutaneous input to guide the process. The required plasticity for this reorganization can be achieved through a combination of spinal neuromodulation and specific activity-dependent mechanisms.
FRONTIERS IN NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Biology
Miki Kaneshige, Kei Obara, Michiaki Suzuki, Toshiki Tazoe, Yukio Nishimura
Summary: Spinal stimulation can amplify and shape the muscle responses and torque outputs, helping restore motor function after impairment. The effects are dependent on the direction and level of voluntary torque.
Article
Clinical Neurology
Marianna Kalaszi, Eoghan Donlon, Marzuki Wan Ahmad, Abdirahman Sheikh Mohamed, Peter Boers
Summary: We report a rare case of longitudinally extensive spinal cord lesion that responds to steroids. The etiology of this lesion includes spinal cord infarction, Lyme disease, and autoimmune pathology. The patient showed significant improvement after treatment.
FRONTIERS IN NEUROLOGY
(2022)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Michael P. Trevarrow, Sarah E. Baker, Tony W. Wilson, Max J. Kurz
Summary: The study revealed that there are microstructural differences in the cervical-thoracic spinal cord of adults with cerebral palsy, with decreased total spinal cord area and gray matter proportion in CP adults. The magnetization transfer ratio (MTR) of the corticospinal tracts was also lower in CP adults, and individuals with reduced gray matter tended to have both reduced MTR in their corticospinal tracts and worse hand dexterity clinical scores.
DEVELOPMENTAL MEDICINE AND CHILD NEUROLOGY
(2021)
Article
Polymer Science
Axayacatl Morales-Guadarrama, Hermelinda Salgado-Ceballos, Israel Grijalva, Juan Morales-Corona, Braulio Hernandez-Godinez, Alejandra Ibanez-Contreras, Camilo Rios, Araceli Diaz-Ruiz, Guillermo Jesus Cruz, Maria Guadalupe Olayo, Stephanie Sanchez-Torres, Rodrigo Mondragon-Lozano, Laura Alvarez-Mejia, Omar Fabela-Sanchez, Roberto Olayo
Summary: Spinal cord injury (SCI) causes damage to nervous tissue and lacks effective therapeutic strategies. Polymers synthesized by pyrrole-derived plasma have shown to promote neuronal growth in cell cultures and enhance motor function recovery in acute SCI models. This study uses diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to evaluate SCI evolution in nonhuman primates, with results consistent with histology and motor function.
Article
Neurosciences
Hui-Xin Qi, Jamie L. Reed, Feng Wang, Christopher L. Gross, Xin Liu, Li Min Chen, Jon H. Kaas
Summary: The study demonstrates significant post-lesion behavioral recovery and cortical reactivation in squirrel monkeys with dorsal column lesions, particularly showing higher magnitude of fMRI responses in the specific training group. The use of specific kinematic measures in hand movements predicts recovery time better than overall task performance success. CBV scans may provide stronger signals for studying cortical reactivation process after sensory deprivations. The reactivation by digit 2 stimulation correlates best with overall behavioral recovery.
Article
Cell & Tissue Engineering
Benjamin Jevans, Nicholas D. James, Emily Burnside, Conor J. McCann, Nikhil Thapar, Elizabeth J. Bradbury, Alan J. Burns
Summary: The combination treatment of enteric neural stem cells (ENSCs) with chondroitinase ABC (ChABC) showed superior regenerative effects in repairing spinal cord injury, suggesting a potential new strategy for treating SCI.
STEM CELL RESEARCH & THERAPY
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Weimin Zheng, Ling Wang, Beining Yang, Qian Chen, Yongsheng Hu, Jubao Du, Xuejing Li, Xin Chen, Wen Qin, Kuncheng Li, Jie Lu, Nan Chen
Summary: This study explores the brain structural and functional changes in cerebellar-cerebral circuit following complete thoracolumbar spinal cord injury (CTSCI). The findings show that CTSCI patients exhibit structural atrophy in certain cerebellar subregions and decreased functional connectivity between cerebellum and cerebral regions. Furthermore, the functional changes between vermis_10 and right fusiform gyrus play a crucial role in the dysfunction caused by CTSCI.
FRONTIERS IN NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Anne-Dominique Gindrat, Magali Chytiris, Myriam Balerna, Eric M. Rouiller, Arko Ghosh
News Item
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Anne-Dominique Gindrat, Magali Chytiris, Myriam Balerna, Eric M. Rouiller, Arko Ghosh
M S-MEDECINE SCIENCES
(2015)
Article
Anatomy & Morphology
Anne-Dominique Gindrat, Charles Quairiaux, Juliane Britz, Denis Brunet, Florian Lanz, Christoph M. Michel, Eric M. Rouiller
BRAIN STRUCTURE & FUNCTION
(2015)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Joern Peuser, Abderraouf Belhaj-Saif, Adjia Hamadjida, Eric Schmidlin, Anne-Dominique Gindrat, Andreas Charles Voelker, Pavel Zakharov, Henri-Marcel Hoogewoud, Eric M. Rouiller, Frank Scheffold
JOURNAL OF BIOMEDICAL OPTICS
(2011)