Left-right side-specific endocrine signaling complements neural pathways to mediate acute asymmetric effects of brain injury.

ABSTRACT: Brain injuries can interrupt descending neural pathways that convey motor commands from the cortex to spinal motoneurons. Here, we demonstrate that a unilateral injury of the hindlimb sensorimotor cortex of rats with completely transected thoracic spinal cord produces hindlimb postural asymmetry with contralateral flexion and asymmetric hindlimb withdrawal reflexes within 3 hr, as well as asymmetry in gene expression patterns in the lumbar spinal cord. The injury-induced postural effects were abolished by hypophysectomy and were mimicked by transfusion of serum from animals with brain injury. Administration of the pituitary neurohormones β-endorphin or Arg-vasopressin-induced side-specific hindlimb responses in naive animals, while antagonists of the opioid and vasopressin receptors blocke

SUBMITTER: Lukoyanov N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8354641 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature