Functional changes in deep dorsal horn interneurons following spinal cord injury are enhanced with different durations of exercise training.

Abstract

Exercise training after spinal cord injury (SCI) enhances collateral sprouting from axons near the injury and is thought to promote intraspinal circuit reorganisation that effectively bridges the SCI. The effects of exercise training, and its duration, on interneurons in these de novo intraspinal circuits are poorly understood. In an adult mouse hemisection model of SCI, we used whole-cell patch-clamp electrophysiology to examine changes in the intrinsic and synaptic properties of deep dorsal horn interneurons in the vicinity of a SCI in response to the injury, and after 3 and 6 weeks of treadmill exercise training. SCI alone exerted powerful effects on the intrinsic and synaptic properties ..