Neuroplasticity Research

KEY FINDING: PKCγ is activated in the corticospinal tract (CST) on the uninjured side of the brain after TBI, suggesting it plays a role in the brain's response to injury.

KEY FINDING: The rubber hand illusion (RHI) itself had a strong effect on participants' sense of touch and body ownership.

KEY FINDING: Dysregulation of cathepsins, particularly after spinal cord injury, exacerbates inflammation and damages tissue, disrupting processes like autophagy and lysosomal function.

KEY FINDING: NgR1 regulates the distribution of Caspr, a paranodal protein, influencing the intramembranous cleavage of the protein at the junction. This finding correlated with altered ultrastructural organization at the paranode and internode of ngr1−/−mice.

KEY FINDING: Locally rewired and compensatory NRG fibers are responsible for different aspects of recovered forelimb and hindlimb functions, including stability, strength, coordination, speed, and timing.

KEY FINDING: There is no difference in connectivity between sham and real TBS or in the effectiveness of RHI.

KEY FINDING: Stroke reduced the stimulation threshold evoking ipsilateral forelimb movement.

KEY FINDING: ChABC normalizes deafferentation-induced compromise of sensory function. Spared-root-lesioned animals treated with ChABC did not show a deficit in their ability to sense the presence of the tape or the ability to remove the tape on any of the postinjury testing days.

KEY FINDING: Plasticity occurs throughout the neuraxis after spinal cord injury, involving alterations in neuronal circuits, axon sprouting, and synaptic rearrangements.

KEY FINDING: ChABC injection rostral to a hemisection injury promoted significant sprouting of 5HT+ fibers into the dorsal and ventral horns of the spinal cord.