Morris Renée, Whishaw Ian Q
Translational Neuroscience Facility, School of Medical Sciences, The University of New South Wales Australia Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Department of Neuroscience, Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge Lethbridge, AB, Canada.
Front Neurosci. 2016 Jan 27;10:5. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2016.00005. eCollection 2016.
Spinal cord injury and repair is a dynamic field of research. The development of reliable animal models of traumatic spinal cord injury has been invaluable in providing a wealth of information regarding the pathological consequences and recovery potential of this condition. A number of injury models have been instrumental in the elaboration and the validation of therapeutic interventions aimed at reversing this once thought permanent condition. In general, the study of spinal cord injury and repair is made difficult by both its anatomical complexity and the complexity of the behavior it mediates. In this perspective paper, we suggest a new model for spinal cord investigation that simplifies problems related to both the functional and anatomical complexity of the spinal cord. We begin by reviewing and contrasting some of the most common animal models used for investigating spinal cord dysfunction. We then consider two widely used models of spinal deficit-recovery, one involving the corticospinal tracts (CTS) and the other the rubrospinal tract (RST). We argue that the simplicity of the function of the RST makes it a useful model for studying the cord and its functional repair. We also reflect on two obstacles that have hindered progress in the pre-clinical field, delaying translation to the clinical setup. The first is recovery of function without reconnection of the transected descending fibers and the second is the use of behavioral paradigms that are not under the control of the descending fiber pathway under scrutiny.
脊髓损伤与修复是一个充满活力的研究领域。创伤性脊髓损伤可靠动物模型的开发，对于提供有关这种疾病的病理后果和恢复潜力的丰富信息具有不可估量的价值。许多损伤模型有助于阐述和验证旨在逆转这种曾被认为是永久性疾病的治疗干预措施。一般来说，脊髓损伤与修复的研究因脊髓的解剖复杂性及其所介导行为的复杂性而变得困难。在这篇观点论文中，我们提出了一种用于脊髓研究的新模型，该模型简化了与脊髓功能和解剖复杂性相关的问题。我们首先回顾并对比一些用于研究脊髓功能障碍的最常见动物模型。然后我们考虑两种广泛使用的脊髓缺陷恢复模型，一种涉及皮质脊髓束（CTS），另一种涉及红核脊髓束（RST）。我们认为，RST功能的简单性使其成为研究脊髓及其功能修复的有用模型。我们还思考了阻碍临床前领域进展、延迟向临床应用转化的两个障碍。第一个障碍是在横断的下行纤维未重新连接的情况下功能的恢复，第二个障碍是使用不受正在研究的下行纤维通路控制的行为范式。
