title: A leech model for homeostatic plasticity and motor network recovery after loss of descending inputs.
abstract: Motor networks below the site of spinal cord injury (SCI) and their reconfiguration after loss of central inputs are poorly understood but remain of great interest in SCI research. Harley et al. (J Neurophysiol 113: 3610-3622, 2015) report a striking locomotor recovery paradigm in the leech Hirudo verbena with features that are functionally analogous to SCI. They propose that this well-established neurophysiological system could potentially be repurposed to provide a complementary model to investigate basic principles of homeostatic compensation relevant to SCI research.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri bjl916@mail.missouri.edu.
authors.forename: Brian J
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3416-2377
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Lane
mesh_terms: D000344:Afferent Pathways / Q000293:injuries* / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D008124:Locomotion / Q000502:physiology*; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000502:physiology*; D020127:Recovery of Function / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: compensation; homeostatic plasticity; motor network; spinal cord injury