Spinal cord injuries disrupt signalling from the brain leading to loss of limb, locomotion, sexual and bladder function, usually irreversible in humans. In zebrafish, recovery of function occurs in a few days for larvae or a few weeks for adults due to regrowth of axons and de novo neurogenesis. Together with its genetic amenability and optical clarity, this makes zebrafish a powerful animal model to study circuit reorganisation after spinal cord injuries. With the fast evolution of techniques, we can forecast significative improvements of our knowledge of the mechanisms leading to successful or failed recovery of spinal cord function. We review here the present knowledge on the subject, the new technological approaches and we propose future directions of research.

The present protocol describes a method to induce tissue-specific and highly reproducible injuries in zebrafish larvae using a laser lesion system combined with an automated microfluidic platform for larvae handling.

The present protocol describes a method to induce tissue-specific and highly reproducible injuries in zebrafish larvae using a laser lesion system combined with an automated microfluidic platform for larvae handling.