“The Impact of Enriched Environment and Transplantatoin of Neuronal and Glial Precursors on Recovery from Controlled Cortical Contusion Injury”
Jeffrey S. Smith, The University of Portland, Portland, OR 97203

Embryonic stem cell (ESC) therapy use has been explored in several models of neurological disease. Several of these studies have suggested that ESC treatment leads to improved recovery following traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, though these data suggest that functional recovery occurs, few surviving ESCs appear to develop neuronal characteristics, instead the majority of the surviving ESC transplants express glial phenotypes. Additionally, enriching the post-surgical environment has also been shown to promote functional recovery in many animal models of TBI. The purpose of the current project is to determine if post-injury environmental enrichment impacts the integration of ESCs in a rodent model of TBI and improves recovery. Post-injury enrichment following ESC treatment should improve behavioral recovery and increase the presence of transplanted cells expressing neuronal characteristics.

Jeffrey S. Smith, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Psychology
The University of Portland
5000 N. Willamette Blvd.
Portland, OR 97203
Phone: (503) 943-7105
Fax: (503) 943-7401