Regeneration of the auditory pathway in adult rats by transplants of fetalbrain tissue

THE ventral cochlear tract in the brain stem to pens was transected on one side in two groups of adult rats. In one group simple transection was perfo rmed, while in the other group tissue from embryos (E14-E16) was used to co ver the lesion site. While rats receiving simple transection without transp lantation showed no evidence of regeneration, in 30% of the rats receiving transplants of embryonic tissue the axons regrew beyond the transected site and regenerated into the denervated side and terminated at the normal targ ets. The present findings contradict the widely held view that the adult ma mmalian central auditory system cannot be restored following damage. NeuroR eport 9: 3815-3817 (C) 1998 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.