In this study, we used a novel technique to study reflex wind-up when the spinal cord is intact and following an acute spinal transection. Specifically, we evaluated reflex responses evoked by a series of 10 electrical pulses to the tibial or superficial peroneal nerves in 9 decerebrate adult cats, before and after an acute spinal transection. Electromyograms were recorded in four hindlimb musc...

A brain-machine interface (BMI) is a neuroprosthetic device that can restore motor function of individuals with paralysis. Although the feasibility of BMI control of upper-limb neuroprostheses has been demonstrated, a BMI for the restoration of lower-limb motor functions has not yet been developed. The objective of this study was to determine if gait-related information can be captured from neu...

Taste buds are dependent on innervation for normal morphology and function. Fungiform taste bud degeneration after chorda tympani nerve injury has been well documented in rats, hamsters, and gerbils. The current study examines fungiform taste bud distribution and structure in adult C57BL/6J mice from both intact taste systems and after unilateral chorda-lingual nerve transection. Fungiform tast...

Neuropathic pain is a complex syndrome resulting from damage to the peripheral nervous system. Central neuroimmune activation contributes to the generation and maintenance of chronic pain after nerve injury. The current study determined the effects of recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO) on behavioral hyperalgesia and neuroimmune activation in a rat model of neuropathic pain induced by L5 s...

Upon noxious stimulation, substance P (SP) is released from primary afferent fibers into the spinal cord where it interacts with the SP receptor (SPR). The SPR is located throughout the dorsal horn and undergoes endocytosis after agonist binding, which provides a spatial image of SPR-containing neurons that undergo agonist interaction. Under normal conditions, SPR internalization occurs only in...

The rat glossopharyngeal nerve (GL), which innervates posterior tongue taste buds, contains several physiologically defined taste fiber types; at least one type is primarily responsive to certain alkaloids (such as quinine), and another is primarily responsive to acids and salts. In contrast, the chorda tympani (CT), which innervates anterior tongue taste buds, does not appear to contain fibers...

BACKGROUND Minimizing blood loss is an important aspect of laparoscopic liver resection. Liver transection is the most challenging part of liver resection, but no standard method is available for this step at present. Herein, we have introduced the superficial precoagulation, sealing, and transection (SPST) method, a potentially "bloodless" and "ecofriendly" laparoscopic liver transection techn...