| Abstract: | The paper presents briefly recent developments in the functional restoration of the CNS. Although the assumed processes for the restoration are the same as given in the XIXth century, today they are tested empirically. The mechanisms involved can be summarized into two groups: redundancy (restitution) and reorganisation (substitution). Facilitating or debilitating factors for the restoration are overviewed as a function of the individual's characteristics (age, sex, species and prior experience), the nature of the lesion and postlesional conditions. Postlesional problems are given a new perspective by the discovery of axonal or collateral regeneration of the CNS. Although its clinical importance is still controversial, it seems clear that some reorganization of the immature CNS is possible. One has to take into account two other processes: hypersensitivity of denervation and synaptic derepression. |
