Spinal Plasticity effects on neural circuits

描述(由申请人提供) NINDS K25导师量化研究职业生涯的候选人 发展奖作为一名生物医学工程师接受培训，并已完成 临床神经假体的实验和模型研究等 脊髓神经生理学发现在神经假体问题上的应用。 该导师是神经可塑性和再生领域的领导者。这个 候选人的长期目标是加深对马达的理解 脊椎级编码程序及其功能应用。短期 职业目标是发展对神经影响的理解。 脊柱环路的可塑性，这种环路产生有组织的力模式 电/药物激活时的肢体效应器。这样的一种 了解这一点将有助于开发组合设备 通过感觉运动训练和再生脊髓增强神经假体 小路。拟议的职业发展计划包括以下方面的具体培训 神经可塑性、组织学和电生理学方法。具体的 该研究计划的目的是检查脊髓损伤、感觉运动 康复和神经移植影响脊柱的手术 电路。该计划是对候选人的 以工程为基础的神经假体研究对导师的长期兴趣 脊椎修复的长期利息。提出了三个项目。第一眼 慢性脊髓化对产生的力模式结构的影响 通过电激活猫的腰椎背侧/内侧区域 放大。第二个项目考察了运动训练对 脊椎动物的行走能力和脊椎回路组织。这个 第三个项目建议扩展在大鼠身上开发的移植方案 应用于CAT模型，并确定这些技术提供的功能优势 脊柱移植与运动训练相结合。在完成 运动训练，编码到神经元回路中的力量模式 脊髓通过椎管内微刺激进行研究。结果将会是 扩展我们的知识神经可塑性的影响的部分 具有神经假体应用潜力的脊髓回路。此外， 结果将展示神经移植物的跨物种应用， 以及感觉运动训练对再生通路的影响。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant) The candidate for this NINDS K25 Mentored Quantitative Research Career Development Award was trained as a biomedical engineer and has performed experimental and modeling research on clinical neuroprostheses and on applications of spinal neurophysiology discoveries to neuroprosthetic problems. The mentor is a leader in the field of neural plasticity and regeneration. The candidate's long term objective is to further the understanding of the motor program coded at the spinal level, and its functional application. Short term career goals are to develop an understanding of the effects of neural plasticity on spinal circuits that produce organized force patterns at the limb's effector when electrically/pharmacologically activated. Such an understanding would contribute to the development of devices combining neuroprostheses enhanced by sensorimotor training and regenerated spinal pathways. The proposed career development plan includes specific training in neural plasticity, histological and electrophysiological methods. The specific aims of the research plan are to examine how spinal cord injuries, sensorimotor rehabilitation, and neural transplants affect the operation of the spinal circuits. The plan is an innovative integration of the candidate's engineering-based neuroprosthetics research interests with the mentor's long term interests in spinal repair. Three projects are proposed. The first looks at the effects of chronic spinalization on the force pattern structure produced by electrical activation of dorsal/medial regions of the cat's spinal lumbar enlargement. The second project examines the effects of locomotor training on the spinal animal's walking abilities and spinal circuitry organization. The third project proposes to extend transplantation protocols developed in the rat to the cat model, and to identify the functional benefits provided by these spinal grafts when combined with locomotor training. Upon completion of the locomotor training, the force patterns coded into the neuronal circuit of the spinal cord are investigated via intraspinal microstimulation. The results will extend our knowledge of the effects of neural plasticity on portions of the spinal circuitry with potential for neuroprosthetic applications. Furthermore, the results will demonstrate the cross-species application of a neural graft, as well as the effect of sensorimotor training on the regenerated pathways.