title: Neuroplasticity of the sensorimotor cortex during learning.
abstract: We will discuss some of the current issues in understanding plasticity in the sensorimotor (SM) cortices on the behavioral, neurophysiological, and synaptic levels. We will focus our paper on reaching and grasping movements in the rat. In addition, we will discuss our preliminary work utilizing inhibition of protein kinase Mζ (PKMζ), which has recently been shown necessary and sufficient for the maintenance of long-term potentiation (LTP) (Ling et al., 2002). With this new knowledge and inhibitors to this system, as well as the ability to overexpress this system, we can start to directly modulate LTP and determine its influence on behavior as well as network level processing dependent at least in part due to this form of LTP. We will also briefly introduce the use of brain machine interface (BMI) paradigms to ask questions about sensorimotor plasticity and discuss current analysis techniques that may help in our understanding of neuroplasticity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, The Robert F. Furchgott Center of Neural and Behavioral Science, and the Joint Program in Biomedical Engineering at SUNY Downstate and NUY-POLY, State University of New York (SUNY) Downstate Medical Center, 450 Clarkson Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11203, USA. joey199us@gmail.com
authors.forename: Joseph Thachil
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Francis
authors.forename: Weiguo
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Song
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D017774:Long-Term Potentiation / Q000502:physiology; D009044:Motor Cortex / Q000166:cytology / Q000201:enzymology / Q000502:physiology*; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000502:physiology*; D011493:Protein Kinase C / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D013003:Somatosensory Cortex / Q000166:cytology / Q000201:enzymology / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D011493:Protein Kinase C; C504730:protein kinase M zeta, rat