CORTICOSPINAL TRACT REGROWTH

The natural ability of the adult central nervous system of higher vert ebrates to recover from injury is highly limited. This limitation is m ost likely due to an inhospitable environment and/or intrinsic incapac ities of the neurons to re-extend their neurites after injury or axoto my. The rat corticospinal tract is the largest tract leading from brai n to spinal cord and is often used as a model in developmental and reg eneration studies. The extensive know-how of factors involved in the d evelopment of the corticospinal tract did provide the foundation for m any studies on corticospinal tract regrowth after injury in the adult spinal cord. The results of these experiments, as discussed in this re view, have led to important contributions to the further understanding of central nervous system regeneration. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science.