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How plastic are human spinal cord motor circuitries?

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Abstract

Human and animal studies have documented that neural circuitries in the spinal cord show adaptive changes caused by altered supraspinal and/or afferent input to the spinal circuitry in relation to learning, immobilization, injury and neurorehabilitation. Reversible adaptations following, e.g. the acquisition or refinement of a motor skill rely heavily on the functional integration between supraspinal and sensory inputs to the spinal cord networks. Accordingly, what is frequently conceived as a change in the spinal circuitry may be a change in either descending or afferent input or in the relative integration of these, i.e. a change in the neuronal weighting. This is evident from findings documenting only task-specific functional changes after periods of altered inputs whereas resting responses remain unaffected. In fact, the proximity of the spinal circuitry to the outer world may demand a more rigid organization compared to the highly flexible cortical circuits. The understanding of all of this is important for the planning and execution of neurorehabilitation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Neural Control of Movement Research Group, Department of Neuroscience and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Lasse Christiansen, Jesper Lundbye-Jensen & Jens Bo Nielsen

  2. Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Lasse Christiansen & Jesper Lundbye-Jensen

  3. Department of Neurological Surgery, The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA

    Lasse Christiansen & Monica A. Perez

  4. Elsass Institute, Holmegårdsvej 28, 2920, Charlottenlund, Denmark

    Jens Bo Nielsen

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  1. Lasse Christiansen
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  2. Jesper Lundbye-Jensen
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  3. Monica A. Perez
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  4. Jens Bo Nielsen
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Correspondence to Jens Bo Nielsen.

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Christiansen, L., Lundbye-Jensen, J., Perez, M.A. et al. How plastic are human spinal cord motor circuitries?. Exp Brain Res 235, 3243–3249 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-017-5037-x

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