title: Synaptic plasticity modulates the spontaneous recovery of locomotion after spinal cord hemisection.
abstract: Several evidences have demonstrated that adult mammals could achieve a wide range of spontaneous sensory-motor recovery after spinal cord injury by means of various forms of neuroplasticity. In this study we evaluated the possibility that after low-thoracic spinal cord hemisection in the adult rat, significant hindlimb locomotor recovery could occur, and that this recovery may be driven, at least in part, by mechanisms of synaptic plasticity. In order to address these issues, we measured the expression levels of synapsin-I and brain-derived neurotrophic factor by Western blotting, at various time points after hemisection and correlated them with the motor performance on a grid walk test. Regression analysis showed that the expression of synapsin-I was strongly correlated with the spontaneous recovery of hindlimb locomotion (R=0.78). Conversely, neither the expression levels of synapsin-I nor the locomotor recovery were associated with the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor. Overall results indicate that after spinal cord hemisection, substantial recovery of hindlimb locomotion could occur spontaneously, and that synaptic plasticity within spinal circuitries below the level of the lesion, could be an important mechanism involved in these processes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiological Sciences, University of Catania, Viale A. Doria 6, 95125 Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: Rosario
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gulino
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dimartino
authors.forename: Antonino
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Casabona
authors.forename: Salvatore Andrea
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Lombardo
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Perciavalle
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000502:physiology*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D020127:Recovery of Function / Q000502:physiology*; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016704:Synapsins / Q000378:metabolism*; D013997:Time Factors; D016138:Walking / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D016704:Synapsins