This Program on Spinal Cord Injury represents a bending of interdisciplinary approaches to explore the potential for restoring function in the injured spinal cord. With this long-term objective in mind, various anatomical, behavioral, electrophysiological, neurophysiological, and microsurgical methods will be used to achieve the following immediate goals: (i) to examine the capacity of fetal CNS and peripheral nerve (PNS) grafts to mediate anatomical and functional repair in acute and chronic injuries, (ii) to develop models that will ultimately permit definitive correlative analyses of therapeutic strategies aimed at restoring sensory, motor, and/or autonomic function, (iii) to test new approaches that may permit in-depth studies of behavior and cellular neurophysiology, and (iv) to demonstrate fundamental events underlying functional recovery in the amphibian spinal cord. Accordingly, Project 1 will examine the ability of fetal CNS grafts to establish host- graft synaptic interactions in the chronically injured spinal cord, as well as the capacity of these grafts to prevent the death of certain spinal neurons following cord damage in the adult rodent: methods will also be developed for intraspinal transplantation into the adult cat in conjunction with our Core laboratory. Project 2 focuses on the problem of spasticity, as manifested in the cat, and seeks to establish approaches that will permit direct correlations between non-invasive physiological evaluations and electrophysiological recordings. Project 3 will test the efficacy of PNS grafts in restoring somatosensation and segmental reflex activity in the cat and primate. Project 4 will study the neurophysiology and synaptic organization of the cat sacrocaudal cord - a region which may serve as a novel model for studies of spinal cord plasticity and regeneration. Project 5 will explore sensory physiology and the ascending pathways that subserve cortical perception of respiration in various animal models, as well as in humans with spinal cord injuries. Collectively, these subproject will provide a comprehensive and interactive investigation of various aspects of spinal cord motor, sensory, and autonomic function that are of fundamental scientific and clinical interest.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Type
Research Program Projects (P01)
Project #
5P01NS027511-02
Application #
3100289
Study Section
Neurological Disorders Program Project Review A Committee (NSPA)
Project Start
1989-09-01
Project End
1994-08-31
Budget Start
1990-09-01
Budget End
1991-08-31
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
1990
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Florida
Department
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
073130411
City
Gainesville
State
FL
Country
United States
Zip Code
32611
Ferrero, Sunny L; Brady, Tiffany D; Dugan, Victoria P et al. (2015) Effects of lateral funiculus sparing, spinal lesion level, and gender on recovery of bladder voiding reflexes and hematuria in rats. J Neurotrauma 32:200-8
Petruska, Jeffrey C; Barker, Darrell F; Garraway, Sandra M et al. (2014) Organization of sensory input to the nociceptive-specific cutaneous trunk muscle reflex in rat, an effective experimental system for examining nociception and plasticity. J Comp Neurol 522:1048-71
Taylor, Julian S; Vierck, Charles J (2003) Effects of ketamine on electroencephalographic and autonomic arousal and segmental reflex responses in the cat. Vet Anaesth Analg 30:237-49
Hubscher, Charles H; Johnson, Richard D (2002) Differential effects of chronic spinal hemisection on somatic and visceral inputs to caudal brainstem. Brain Res 947:234-42
Friedman, R M; Ritz, L A; Reier, P J et al. (2000) Effects of sacrocaudal spinal cord transection and transplantation of fetal spinal tissue on withdrawal reflexes of the tail. Neurorehabil Neural Repair 14:331-43
Taylor, J; Munson, J; Vierck Jr, C (1999) Effects of dorsolateral spinal lesions on stretch reflex threshold and stiffness in awake cats. Eur J Neurosci 11:363-8
Gordon, T; Tyreman, N; Rafuse, V F et al. (1999) Limited plasticity of adult motor units conserves recruitment order and rate coding. Prog Brain Res 123:191-202
Aschner, M; Allen, J W; Kimelberg, H K et al. (1999) Glial cells in neurotoxicity development. Annu Rev Pharmacol Toxicol 39:151-73
Johnson, R D; Hubscher, C H (1998) Brainstem microstimulation differentially inhibits pudendal motoneuron reflex inputs. Neuroreport 9:341-5
Petruska, J C; Hubscher, C H; Johnson, R D (1998) Anodally focused polarization of peripheral nerve allows discrimination of myelinated and unmyelinated fiber input to brainstem nuclei. Exp Brain Res 121:379-90

Showing the most recent 10 out of 42 publications