Restoring Neural Circuits after Spinal Cord Injury

Spinal cord injury is a type of devastating central nervous system injury that is affecting millions of patients each year and with no efficient cure. Neural circuits exist in the spinal cord throughout the whole life circle, and were proven to be crucial in recovering locomotor function below the level of spinal cord injury. However, the molecular mechanism of the development of neural circuits in the spinal cord is not yet clear. Although there are reports of restoring neural circuits to treat spinal cord injury, the results are not ideal. Lots of work needs to be done to find effective pharmaceutical, cellular, and tissue engineering approaches to restore neural circuitry after spinal cord injury, as well as their working mechanisms. Here we propose to invite leading experts on spinal cord injury research to review their findings, ranging from the development of neural circuits in the spinal cord to various techniques in restoring those circuits to achieve functional recovery after spinal cord injury.

1. Genetic control of neural circuits in the development of the spinal cord.

2. molecular mechanisms for the reconstruction of neural circuitry after SCI.

2. Role and working mechanisms of drugs, molecular, cellular and tissue engineering approaches to restore neural circuitry after SCI.