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Science 25 May 1984:
Vol. 224. no. 4651, pp. 894 - 896
DOI: 10.1126/science.6719120
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Articles

Science, Vol 224, Issue 4651, 894-896
Copyright © 1984 by American Association for the Advancement of Science

articles

Directional specificity in the regeneration of lamprey spinal axons

HS Yin, SA Mackler, and ME Selzer

After spinal transection in ammocoetes (lamprey larvae) 4 to 5 years old, functional recovery is accompanied by a limited regeneration in which axons grow as far as 5 millimeters beyond the scar. In axotomized giant interneurons labeled intracellularly with horseradish peroxidase 16 to 120 days after transection, 74 percent of regenerating neurites grew in their normal projection pattern, rostal and contralateral to the cell body. One third of the neurites originated anomalously from posterior dendrites. Despite their initial abnormal orientation, 80 percent of these neurites looped contralaterally and rostrally to assume the normal projection path. The directional specificity persisted when giant interneurons were located in islands formed by double simultaneous cord transection. This limited regeneration seems to be characterized by directional selectivity that cannot be attributed to nonspecific influences, such as a tendency of neurites to grow in an already established direction or a trophic effect of the zone of injury.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Expression of the Netrin Receptor UNC-5 in Lamprey Brain: Modulation by Spinal Cord Transection.
M.I. Shifman and M.E. Selzer (2000)
Neurorehabil Neural Repair 14, 49-58
   Abstract »    PDF »
Recovery of Neurofilament Expression Selectively in Regenerating Reticulospinal Neurons.
A. J. Jacobs, G. P. Swain, J. A. Snedeker, D. S. Pijak, L. J. Gladstone, and M. E. Selzer (1997)
J. Neurosci. 17, 5206-5220
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Mechanisms of Functional Recovery in Traumatic Brain Injury.
M. E. Selzer (1995)
Neurorehabil Neural Repair 9, 73-82
   PDF »
Regenerative Potential of the Spinal Cord.
M. E. Selzer (1994)
Neurorehabil Neural Repair 8, 11-15
   PDF »
Regeneration of functional synapses between individual recognizable neurons in the lamprey spinal cord.
S. Mackler and M. Selzer (1985)
Science 229, 774-776
   Abstract »    PDF »


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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)