Spinal cord injury (SCI) results not only in motor and sensory deficits but also in autonomic
dysfunctions. The disruption of connections between higher brain centers and the spinal …

Breathing occurs without thought but is controlled by a complex neural network with a final
output of phrenic motor neurons activating diaphragm muscle fibers (ie, motor units). This …

Spinal interneurons are important facilitators and modulators of motor, sensory, and
autonomic functions in the intact CNS. This heterogeneous population of neurons is now …

Widespread appreciation that neuroplasticity is an essential feature of the neural system
controlling breathing has emerged only in recent years. In this chapter, we focus on …

There is growing interest in the use of neural precursor cells to treat spinal cord injury (SCI).
Despite extensive pre-clinical research, it remains unclear as to which donor neuron …

Symmorphosis is a concept of economy of biological design, whereby structural properties
are matched to functional demands. According to symmorphosis, biological structures are …

The central nervous system is not a static, hard-wired organ. Examples of neuroplasticity,
whether at the level of the synapse, the cell, or within and between circuits, can be found …

More than half of all spinal cord injuries (SCIs) occur at the cervical level, often resulting in
impaired respiration. Despite this devastating outcome, there is substantial evidence for …

While spinal cord injuries (SCIs) result in a vast array of functional deficits, many of which
are life threatening, the majority of SCIs are anatomically incomplete. Spared neural …

Ampakines are a class of compounds that are positive allosteric modulators of α-amino-3-
hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) receptors and enhance glutamatergic …