Plasticity In The Somatosensory System Of Developing And Mature Mammals - The Effects Of Injury To The Central And Peripheral Nervous System (progress In Sensory Physiology)

Rarely have the many mechanisms that might underlie neural plasticity been examined as explicitly as they are in this broad, lavishly illustrated treatment of plasticity in the somatosensory system. The reader is provided with state-of-the-art knowledge of connections at all levels of the somatosensory system. The authors examine the propensity for changes of connectivity in both the mature and developing mammal and make clear proposals regarding the mechanisms underlying these changes. Their functional significance to relevant psychophysical and neurological observations is also discussed. Sympathetic afferent fibers originate from a visceral organ, course in the thoracolumbar rami communicantes, have cell bodies located in dorsal root ganglia, and terminate in the gray matter of the spinal cord. Sympathetic afferent fibers from the heart transmit information about noxious stimuli associated with myocardial ischemia, i. e. angina pectoris. Previous reviews have described the characteristics of cardiovascular sympathetic afferent fibers (Bishop et al. 1983; Malliani 1982). This review summarizes that work and focuses on the neural mechanisms underlying the complexities of angina pectoris. In order to understand anginal pain, cells forming the classical pain pathway, the spinothalamic tract (STn, were chosen for study. These cells were chosen to address questions about anginal pain because they transmit nociceptive informa­ of pain. Antidromic tion to brain regions that are involved in the perception activation of STT cells provided a means of identifying cells involved with trans­ mission of nociceptive information in anesthetized animals. Other ascending pathways may also transmit nociceptive information, but many studies show that the STT plays an important role. Visceral pain is commonly referred to overlying somatic structures. The pain of angina pectoris can be sensed over a wide area of the thorax: in the retrosternal, precordial anterior thoracic, and anterior cervical regions of the chest; in the left or sometimes even the right shoulder, arm, wrist, or hand; or in the jaw and teeth (Harrison and Reeves 1968). This monographic work authored by eminent neurophysiologists will be of major interest to researchers investigating the visual system or working in behavioral neuroscience and sleep research. The book deals with the neuronal circuits of the visual thalamocortical system, the brainstem and basal forebrain modulatory systems and their neurotransmitters acting upon these circuits, and the neuronal activities in the visual thalamocortical system as changed during shifts in behavioral states of vigilance from wake to sleep. Data discussed consist of recent studies on light and electron microscopy, extra- and intracellular recordings of thalamic and cortical neurons, neurotransmitter actions, and state-dependent cellular activities in the visual system. Front Matter....Pages I-XVI Introductory Remarks....Pages 1-5 Plasticity in the Peripheral Somatosensory Nervous System....Pages 6-57 Plasticity and the Mystacial Vibrissae of Rodents....Pages 58-116 Plasticity and the Spinal Dorsal Horn (with Notes on Homologous Regions of the Trigeminal Nuclei)....Pages 117-224 Plasticity and the Dorsal Column Nuclei....Pages 225-285 Plasticity and the Somatosensory Thalamus....Pages 286-311 Plasticity and the Somatosensory Cerebral Cortex....Pages 312-393 Concluding Remarks....Pages 394-425 Back Matter....Pages 426-482