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Denervation Induced Changes in Somatotopic Organization: The Ineffective Projections of Afferent Fibres and Structural Plasticity

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Processing of Sensory Information in the Superficial Dorsal Horn of the Spinal Cord

Abstract

Generally when we speak of plasticity in relation to the nervous system we do not have in our minds only the malleability of structure. We could, for instance, easily be persuaded to consider any phenomenon to which we can attribute alterations of neural circuitry, be they reflected in psychophysical experience or changes in the responsiveness of individual nerve cells. The list of factors that potentially underlie any particular manifestation of plasticity is long and includes mechanisms such as changes in the shape of dendrites (Purves and Hadley, 1985), the effects of transmitter agonists and antagonists (Dykes et al, 1984; Zieglgänsberger and Herz, 1971), alteration of the intracellular stores or release of substances that modulate, or potentially modulate, synaptic transmission (Krnjevic and Phillis, 1963; Sillito and Kemp, 1983; Metherate et al, 1987; Black et al, 1982; Shehab and Atkinson, 1986), and finally, the growth of axons and the formation of new synapses (Goldberger and Murray, 1978; Pubols and Goldberger, 1980; Tsukahara et al, 1975; Raisman, 1977).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mammalian Neurobiology Laboratories, Department of Anatomy, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland, 4067, Australia

    P. J. Snow & P. Wilson

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  1. P. J. Snow
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  2. P. Wilson
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Bristol Medical School, Bristol, UK

    F. Cervero

  2. National Institute of Dental Research National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA

    G. J. Bennett

  3. University of Bristol Medical School, Bristol, UK

    P. M. Headley

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© 1989 Plenum Press

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Snow, P.J., Wilson, P. (1989). Denervation Induced Changes in Somatotopic Organization: The Ineffective Projections of Afferent Fibres and Structural Plasticity. In: Cervero, F., Bennett, G.J., Headley, P.M. (eds) Processing of Sensory Information in the Superficial Dorsal Horn of the Spinal Cord. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0825-6_29

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0825-6_29

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  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-8101-6

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