Nerve injury and regeneration

When a peripheral nerve is damaged, the body can sometimes regrow the injured axon, but regeneration in the brain and spinal cord remains stubbornly limited, and understanding why is one of the central problems in cellular and molecular neuroscience. Much of the research here focuses on neurotrophins — signaling proteins such as BDNF and GDNF — that regulate whether neurons survive, extend new axon branches, and form or strengthen synaptic connections. These molecules sit at a crossroads between injury biology and broader questions about plasticity, since the same pathways that guide a regenerating axon also shape learning, memory, and mood, helping explain why disrupted neurotrophin signaling has been implicated in depression and chronic pain. Key open questions include how to selectively amplify pro-regenerative signaling after spinal cord injury without triggering maladaptive plasticity, and how the timing and location of neurotrophin delivery influence whether a regrowing axon reconnects to the right target.

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66,660

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2,267,533

Keywords

NeurotrophinsBDNFNerve RegenerationNeuronal PlasticityAxon GrowthSpinal Cord Injury