Operantly conditioned plasticity in spinal cord.
Recent work has shown that the monosynaptic pathway of the SSR can be operantly conditioned, and that a significant part of the plasticity responsible for the behavioral change resides in the spinal cord. The most likely sites of this activity-driven plasticity are the synapse of the Ia afferent neuron on the motoneuron and/or the motoneuron itself. Because the SSR pathway is the simplest and most accessible stimulus-response pathway in the vertebrate CNS, it may provide a valuable experimental model for elucidating activity-driven CNS changes responsible for learning.
Wolpaw
J R
JR
Wadsworth Center for Laboratories and Research, New York State Department of Health, State University of New York, Albany 12201.
Lee
C L
CL
Carp
J S
JS
D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D003216:Conditioning, Operant / Q000502:physiology*; D005544:Forecasting; D008959:Models, Neurological; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000502:physiology; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000502:physiology*; D012026:Reflex, Stretch / Q000502:physiology; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000502:physiology*