Project 13

Tracing the corticospinal pathways in the rat

There is controversy regarding the similarities between rodent and human corticospinal tracts. Resolution of this controversy is vitally important because of the increasing number of claims being made about axonal regeneration and functional recovery of locomotor activity after spinal cord injury in animal models. Following on from an Honours Project in 2003, in the 2004 Project anterograde anatomical tracers will be used to carefully map out the axonal and terminal distributions of corticospinal projections arising from specific, identified areas of rat motor and sensorimotor cortex.