Axonal Branching and Recovery of Coordinated Muscle Activity after Transsection of the Facial Nerve in Adult Rats

Outline of the General Neurobiological Problem.- The Perikarya Which Support Axonal Regrowth are Hyperexcitable.- Axonal Regrowth is Compromised by Ephaptic Cross-Talk Between the Branches.- Biological Significance of Axonal Branching.- Role of Cytoskeleton Reorganization During Axonal Branching.- The Individual Guidance Cues Promoting Reinnervation of Original Targets are Still Unknown.- Conclusion.- Outline of the Clinical Problem.- Questions Still Open.- Methodological Approach.- Materials and Methods.- First Set of Experiments: Attempts to Reduce Collateral Axonal Branching by Alterations of the Trigeminal Input to the Facial Perikarya.- Second Set of Experiments: Attempts to Reduce Collateral Axonal Branching at the Lesion Site.- Results.- First Set of Experiments: Influence of the Altered Afferent Input to Axotomized Facial Perikarya on the Quality of Reinnervation.- Second set of Experiments: Attempts to Reduce Collateral Axonal Branching at the Lesion Site.- Discussion.- The Combined Approach to Evaluate the Quality of Peripheral Nerve Regeneration.- Sensory-Motor Integrity as A Factor for Motor Regeneration.- Collateral Branching Versus Terminal Sprouting of Axons.- Prospects for the Future.- References.- Subject index.