Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-p9bg8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T07:41:34.401Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

15 - From bench to bedside: influence of theories of plasticity on human neurorehabilitation

from Section A3 - Plasticity after injury to the CNS

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 March 2012

Agnes Floel
Affiliation:
Human Coritical Physiology Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
Leonardo G. Cohen
Affiliation:
Human Coritical Physiology Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
Michael Selzer
Affiliation:
University of Pennsylvania
Stephanie Clarke
Affiliation:
Université de Lausanne, Switzerland
Leonardo Cohen
Affiliation:
National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Maryland
Pamela Duncan
Affiliation:
University of Florida
Fred Gage
Affiliation:
Salk Institute for Biological Studies, San Diego
Get access

Summary

Introduction

In the last decade, our knowledge about the mechanisms of neurologic injury and recovery has improved. There is now considerable evidence that cortical representations are continuously modulated in response to practice and skill acquisition, a process often referred to as plasticity (Kaas, 1991; Donoghue et al., 1996). Plasticity can also be elicited by lesions in the central and peripheral nervous systems and may take place in cortical as well as subcortical structures (Kaas, 1991; Donoghue et al., 1996; Nudo and Milliken, 1996; Buonomano and Merzenich, 1998; Cohen et al., 1998; Jones and Pons, 1998; see Volume I, Chapters 6, 8 and 14). Cortical plasticity may thus be defined as any enduring change in cortical properties, as, for example, in the strength of internal connections, representation patterns, or neuronal properties, either morphologic or functional (Donoghue et al., 1996). Cortical reorganization can, depending on the settings, contribute to desirable behavioral developments, such as improved performance, or can be linked with unwanted outcomes like phantom pain (Flor et al., 1995; see Volume II, Chapter 15). The primary vehicle for acquiring knowledge on plasticity in the human central nervous system (CNS) has been animal research. Beginning in the 1970s, research from different laboratories (Merzenich et al., 1984; Kaas, 1991) showed that the adult mammalian CNS has the capacity to reorganize after injury. Understanding of mechanisms, development of strategies to purposefully modulate these mechanisms, and translation into rational strategies to promote recovery of function are the goals of modern neurorehabilitation.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2006

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×