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Gangliosides and Functional Recovery from Brain Injury

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Pharmacological Approaches to the Treatment of Brain and Spinal Cord Injury

Abstract

In the first part of this chapter, we review studies that have focused on the effectiveness of ganglioside treatments for reducing behavioral deficits following brain damage. Our review indicates that gangliosides are an effective treatment following a variety of injuries to structures and pathways of the septohippocampal system, the cerebral cortex, and the nigrostriatal system. Although the underlying mechanism of this ganglioside-induced behavioral recovery is still not understood, the observation, in most of these studies, of its early onset indicates that gangliosides are promoting functional recovery by means other than the facilitation of neuronal sprouting.

In the second part of this chapter, we present recent data comparing GM1 gangliosides, its inner ester, AGF2, and d-amphetamine for their efficacy in promoting functional recovery following bilateral damage to the caudate nucleus. While all of these treatments reduced the behavioral impairments caused by the injury, the intermediate dose (20 mg/kg) of AGF2 was the most effective. Since the behavioral recovery was rapid, and since there was no histological evidence of a ganglioside-enhancement of neuronal sprouting or neuronal survival, we suggest that ganagliosides may promote recovery by affecting beneficial biochemical or metabolic changes, rather than inducing morphological restructuring.

We conclude this chapter by discussing possible explanations of why gnagliosides are therapeutically effective in some situations but not in others. In this context, our analyses are focused primarily on the types of injury, the timing of treatment, and the behavioral parameters that are exmained. We believe that a better understanding of how these varaibles interact can provide further insight into how gangliosides work, and ultimately will lead to the most efficacious use of gangliosides as a pharmacological treatment for brain damage.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Brain Research Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Clark University, Massachussetts, 01610, Worcester, USA

    Gary L. Dunbar & Donald G. Stein

  2. Department of Biology Psychology, Central Michigan University, Michigan, 48852, Mt. Pleasant, USA

    Gary L. Dunbar

  3. Dean of the Graduate School and Associate Provost for Research, Rutgers University at Newark, New Jersey, 07102, Newark, USA

    Donald G. Stein

Authors
  1. Gary L. Dunbar
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  2. Donald G. Stein
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Clark University, Massachusetts, Worcester, USA

    Donald G. Stein

  2. University of Munich, Munich, Federal Republic of Germany

    Bernhard A. Sabel

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© 1988 Plenum Press

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Dunbar, G.L., Stein, D.G. (1988). Gangliosides and Functional Recovery from Brain Injury. In: Stein, D.G., Sabel, B.A. (eds) Pharmacological Approaches to the Treatment of Brain and Spinal Cord Injury. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0927-7_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0927-7_10

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-8249-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4613-0927-7

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