02145nas a2200217   4500008004100000022001400041245008500055210006900140260001200209300000700221490000600228520150000234653001301734653002401747653001501771653002301786653002701809100002201836700002101858856004801879       2014                        eng d  a1662-514500aOperant conditioning of spinal reflexes: from basic science to clinical therapy.0 aOperant conditioning of spinal reflexes from basic science to cl  c03/2014  a250 v83 aNew appreciation of the adaptive capabilities of the nervous system, recent recognition that most spinal cord injuries are incomplete, and progress in enabling regeneration are generating growing interest in novel rehabilitation therapies. Here we review the 35-year evolution of one promising new approach, operant conditioning of spinal reflexes. This work began in the late 1970's as basic science; its purpose was to develop and exploit a uniquely accessible model for studying the acquisition and maintenance of a simple behavior in the mammalian central nervous system (CNS). The model was developed first in monkeys and then in rats, mice, and humans. Studies with it showed that the ostensibly simple behavior (i.e., a larger or smaller reflex) rests on a complex hierarchy of brain and spinal cord plasticity; and current investigations are delineating this plasticity and its interactions with the plasticity that supports other behaviors. In the last decade, the possible therapeutic uses of reflex conditioning have come under study, first in rats and then in humans. The initial results are very exciting, and they are spurring further studies. At the same time, the original basic science purpose and the new clinical purpose are enabling and illuminating each other in unexpected ways. The long course and current state of this work illustrate the practical importance of basic research and the valuable synergy that can develop between basic science questions and clinical needs.10aH-Reflex10alearning and memory10aLocomotion10aspinal cord injury10aspinal cord plasticity1 aThompson, Aiko, K1 aWolpaw, Jonathan  uhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24672441