Glossary terms

Allodynia

Pain from stimuli that are not normally painful.

Chondroitinase ABC

(ChABC). A bacterial enzyme that cleaves the sugar (glycosaminoglycan) chains from proteoglycan molecules, rendering them less inhibitory to growth.

Contact-placing responses

In response to light contact of the foot an animal will lift its limb and place it on a surface for support.

Glial scar

Following CNS injury, activated glial cells form a meshwork of interweaving processes that surround the lesion site. Scarring is important for sealing the wound but can also act as an impenetrable barrier to regeneration.

H-reflex

A monosynaptic reflex elicited by electrically stimulating a nerve with an electric stimulus.

Immediate-early genes

A family of genes that share the characteristic of having their expression rapidly and transiently induced on stimulation.

Preconditioning

A protective effect from injury achieved by a previous insult (thought to be mediated by pro-regenerative changes in the cell body triggered by the insult).

Pyramidotomy

Transection of the corticospinal tract (CST) at the level of the medullary pyramids in the brainstem. A unilateral pyramidotomy lesions the CST on one side, leaving the other side intact (thereby denervating one side of the spinal cord).

Rhizotomy

An injury to the spinal dorsal roots that results in an interruption of sensory input from the PNS into the spinal cord.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation

Involves creating a strong localized transient magnetic field that induces current flow in underlying neural tissue, causing a temporary change in activity in small regions of the brain.

Wallerian degeneration

Degeneration that occurs after axonal injury in the distal segment of a nerve fibre – the part no longer connected to the cell body.