Activity-dependent plasticity of descending synaptic inputs to spinal motoneurons in an in vitro turtle brainstem-spinal cord preparation.

Activity-dependent plasticity in desecending synaptic inputs to spinal motoneurons in an in vitro turtle brainstem-spinal cord preparation

The transformation of synaptic to system plasticity in motor output from the sacral cord of the adult mouse.

Synaptic plasticity is fundamental in shaping the output of neural networks. The transformation of synaptic plasticity at the cellular level into plasticity at the system level involves multiple factors, including behavior of local networks of interneurons. Here we investigate the synaptic to system transformation for plasticity in motor output in an in vitro preparation of the adult mouse spin...

Activity-dependent spinal cord plasticity in health and disease.

Activity-dependent plasticity occurs in the spinal cord throughout life. Driven by input from the periphery and the brain, this plasticity plays an important role in the acquisition and maintenance of motor skills and in the effects of spinal cord injury and other central nervous system disorders. The responses of the isolated spinal cord to sensory input display sensitization, long-term potent...

Extent of branching and conduction velocities of ascending and descending primary afferents in isolated spinal cord of the rat and hamster

Wall and Shortland (1991) have shown that afferent fibers entering the cord in thoracic and lumbar roots of adult rats have branches that may penetrate up to 11 segments caudally from the root entry zone. We have investigated the extent of branching and conduction velocities of ascending and descending branches of lumbar and thoracic primary afferents in isolated spinal cords of adult hamsters ...

Active dendritic integration of inhibitory synaptic inputs in vivo.

Synaptic integration in vivo often involves activation of many afferent inputs whose firing patterns modulate over time. In spinal motoneurons, sustained excitatory inputs undergo enormous enhancement due to persistent inward currents (PICs) that are generated primarily in the dendrites and are dependent on monoaminergic neuromodulatory input from the brain stem to the spinal cord. We measured ...