Myelin suppresses plasticity in the mature brainSeptember 30, 2005Yale School of Medicine researchers report in Science this week genetic evidence for the hypothesis that myelination, or formation of a protective sheath around a nerve fiber, consolidates neural circuitry by suppressing plasticity in the mature brain. This finding has implications for research on restoring mobility to people who have lost motor functions due to spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis, Lou Gehrig's disease, and other central nervous system disorders. "The failure of surviving neurons to reestablish functional connection is most obvious after spinal cord injury, but limited nerve cell regeneration and plasticity is central to a range of neurological disorders, including stroke, head trauma, multiple sclerosis, and neurodegenerative disease," said senior author Stephen Strittmatter, professor in the Departments of Neurology and Neurobiology. "Recovery of motor function after serious damage to the mature brain is facilitated by structural and synaptic plasticity." Strittmatter's laboratory studies how myelin in the central nervous system physically limits axonal growth and regeneration after traumatic and ischemic injury, when blood supply is cut off. A physiological role for the myelin inhibitor pathway has not been defined. Blocking vision in one eye normally alters ocular dominance in the cortex of the brain only during a critical developmental period, or 20 to 32 days postnatal in mice. Strittmatter's lab, working in collaboration with Nigel Daw, M.D., professor of ophthalmology and neuroscience, and his group, found that mutations in the Nogo-66 receptor (NgR) affect plasticity of ocular dominance. In mice with altered NgR, plasticity during the critical period is normal, but it continues abnormally so that ocular dominance later in development is similar to the plasticity of juvenile stages. Yale University |
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| Related Myelin Current Events and Myelin News Articles Drug studied as possible treatment for spinal injuries Researchers have shown how an experimental drug might restore the function of nerves damaged in spinal cord injuries by preventing short circuits caused when tiny "potassium channels" in the fibers are exposed. UCLA study shows brain's ability to reorganize Visually impaired people appear to be fearless, navigating busy sidewalks and crosswalks, safely finding their way using nothing more than a cane as a guide. UCI embryonic stem cell therapy restores walking ability in rats with neck injuries The first human embryonic stem cell treatment approved by the FDA for human testing has been shown to restore limb function in rats with neck spinal cord injuries - a finding that could expand the clinical trial to include people with cervical damage. Rethinking Alzheimer's disease and its treatment targets The standard explanation for what causes Alzheimer's is known as the amyloid hypothesis, which posits that the disease results from of an accumulation of the peptide amyloid beta, the toxic protein fragments that deposit in the brain and become the sticky plaques that have defined Alzheimer's for more than 100 years. Mayo Clinic identifies 2 genes as potential therapeutic targets for multiple sclerosis A Mayo Clinic study has found that two genes in mice were associated with good central nervous system repair in multiple sclerosis (MS). Finding the right connection after spinal cord injury In a major step in spinal cord injury research, scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have demonstrated that regenerating axons can be guided to their correct targets and re-form connections after spinal cord injury. Researchers design first model motor nerve system that's insulated and organized like the human body In the July issue of Biomaterials, published by Elsevier, researchers from the University of Central Florida (UCF) report on the first lab-grown motor nerves that are insulated and organized just like they are in the human body. New clue into how brain stem cells develop into cells which repair damaged tissue The joint research, funded by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and the UK MS Society as well as the National Institutes of Health and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, was conducted by scientists at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) and University of Cambridge and was published today (01 July) in the journal Genes and Development. MS study offers theory for why repair of brain's wiring fails Scientists have uncovered new evidence suggesting that damage to nerve cells in people with multiple sclerosis accumulates because the body's natural mechanism for repair of the nerve coating called "myelin" stalls out. Neural stem cell differentiation factor discovered Neural stem cells represent the cellular backup of our brain. These cells are capable of self-renewal to form new stem cells or differentiate into neurons, astrocytes or oligodendrocytes. More Myelin Current Events and Myelin News Articles |
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