RAPID CHANGES IN BRAIN-STEM MAPS OF ADULT PRIMATES AFTER PERIPHERAL INJURY

Cerebral cortical maps in adult primates reorganize within minutes-hou rs after peripheral injuries, but subcortical versus intracortical con tributions to this rapid reorganization remain controversial. The pres ent results show that injury of nerves to the hands of adult monkeys t riggers rapid (minutes-hours) changes in maps of the hand in the brain stem main cuneate nucleus. These findings suggest that peripheral inju ry causes an initial concurrent reorganization of brainstem and cortic al substrates and that early sensory changes emerge from reorganizatio n involving multiple central levels. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.