Abstract
Abstract It has been recognized since prehistory times that damage to the adult mammalian central nervous system (CNS) does not repair itself. However, it was not until early in the 20th century that Ramon y Cajal recorded the observation that while the CNS does not regenerate, the peripheral nervous system (PNS) of adult mammals does (Ramon y Cajal, 1928). From his observations in vivo, Ramon y Cajal concluded that CNS axons did not regrow because of the presence of CNS-specific obstacles in their path. Since that time, a tremendous effort has been made to identify the characteristics of the PNS that allow regeneration, with the goal of converting the physiology of damaged CNS neurons to that of the PNS after injury, including regeneration and restored function. Unfortunately, this objective has not yet been achieved. However, enough has been elucidated about the differences between regeneration in the CNS and the PNS to begin to take steps toward encouraging regeneration in the adult CNS (Schwab and Bartholdi, 1996; Fawcett and Geller, 1998).
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