02003nas a2200241   4500008004100000022001400041245007500055210006900130260001200199300001400211490000800225520132900233653001701562653001301579653001301592653001101605653001901616653001501635653001901650653002301669100002101692856004801713       2007                        eng d  a1748-170800aSpinal cord plasticity in acquisition and maintenance of motor skills.0 aSpinal cord plasticity in acquisition and maintenance of motor s  c02/2007  a155–1690 v1893 aThroughout normal life, activity-dependent plasticity occurs in the spinal cord as well as in brain. Like other central nervous system (CNS) plasticity, spinal cord plasticity can occur at numerous neuronal and synaptic sites and through a variety of mechanisms. Spinal cord plasticity is prominent early in life and contributes to mastery of standard behaviours like locomotion and rapid withdrawal from pain. Later in life, spinal cord plasticity has a role in acquisition and maintenance of new motor skills, and in compensation for peripheral and central changes accompanying ageing, disease and trauma. Mastery of the simplest behaviours is accompanied by complex spinal and supraspinal plasticity. This complexity is necessary, in order to preserve the complete behavioural repertoire, and is also inevitable, due to the ubiquity of activity-dependent CNS plasticity. Explorations of spinal cord plasticity are necessary for understanding motor skills. Furthermore, the spinal cord's comparative simplicity and accessibility makes it a logical starting point for studying skill acquisition. Induction and guidance of activity-dependent spinal cord plasticity will probably play an important role in realization of effective new rehabilitation methods for spinal cord injuries, cerebral palsy and other motor disorders.10aconditioning10aH-Reflex10aLearning10aMemory10amotor function10aplasticity10aRehabilitation10aspinal cord injury1 aWolpaw, Jonathan  uhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17250566