Corinna Darian-Smith

Professional Education

• PhD, University of Melbourne Neuroscience (1991)

Graduate & Fellowship Program Affiliations

• Comparative Medicine
• Neurosciences

Research Interests

My research focuses on two main areas:
1) the structural organization and function of central neural pathways (e.g. of the spinal cord, brainstem, thalamus and cortex) that underlie directed manual behavior, and
2) the capacity of these central neural pathways (circuits) to compensate/adapt following localized injury. Our laboratory uses neuroanatomical, electrophysiological and behavioural approaches to look at the sensorimotor systems of nonhuman primates, and to examine the neural basis for functional 'recovery’ observed following the selective disruption of pathways mediating fine finger control.
We are also interested in the presence and role of adult neurogenesis in the CNS following injury.

Publications

• Changes in synaptic populations in the spinal dorsal horn following a dorsal rhizotomy in the monkey. Darian-Smith C,  Hopkins S, Ralston HJ.  J Comp Neurol.  2010; 518 (1): 103-17
• Synaptic plasticity, neurogenesis, and functional recovery after spinal cord injury. Darian-Smith C,  Neuroscientist.  2009; 15 (2): 149-65
• Monkey models of recovery of voluntary hand movement after spinal cord and dorsal root injury. Darian-Smith C,  ILAR J.  2007; 48 (4): 396-410
• Adult neurogenesis in primate and rodent spinal cord: comparing a cervical dorsal rhizotomy with a dorsal column transection. Vessal M,  Aycock A, Garton MT, Ciferri M, Darian-Smith C.  Eur J Neurosci.  2007; 26 (10): 2777-94
• Synaptic protein dynamics in hibernation. von der Ohe CG,  Garner CC, Darian-Smith C, Heller HC.  J Neurosci.  2007; 27 (1): 84-92
• Ubiquitous and temperature-dependent neural plasticity in hibernators. von der Ohe CG,  Darian-Smith C, Garner CC, Heller HC.  J Neurosci.  2006; 26 (41): 10590-8
• Cuneate nucleus reorganization following cervical dorsal rhizotomy in the macaque monkey: its role in the recovery of manual dexterity. Darian-Smith C,  Ciferri M.  J Comp Neurol.  2006; 498 (4): 552-65
• Loss and recovery of voluntary hand movements in the macaque following a cervical dorsal rhizotomy. Darian-Smith C,  Ciferri MM.  J Comp Neurol.  2005; 491 (1): 27-45
• Primary afferent terminal sprouting after a cervical dorsal rootlet section in the macaque monkey. Darian-Smith C,  J Comp Neurol.  2004; 470 (2): 134-50
• Geometry of rubrospinal, rubroolivary, and local circuit neurons in the macaque red nucleus. Burman K,  Darian-Smith C, Darian-Smith I.  J Comp Neurol.  2000; 423 (2): 197-219
• Geometry of Rubrospinal, Rubroolivary, and Local Circuit Neurons in the Macaque Red Nucelus Burman K,  C. Darian-Smith, I.. Darian-Smith.  J. Comp. Neurol.  2000; 423 197-219
• Macaque red nucleus: origins of spinal and olivary projections and terminations of cortical inputs. Burman K,  Darian-Smith C, Darian-Smith I.  J Comp Neurol.  2000; 423 (2): 179-96
• Functional changes at periphery and cortex following dorsal root lesions in adult monkeys. Darian-Smith C,  Brown S.  Nat Neurosci.  2000; 3 (5): 476-81
• Comparing thalamocortical and corticothalamic microstructure and spatial reciprocity in the macaque ventral posterolateral nucleus (VPLc) and medial pulvinar. Darian-Smith C,  Tan A, Edwards S.  J Comp Neurol.  1999; 410 (2): 211-34
• Parallel pathways mediating manual dexterity in the macaque. Darian-Smith I,  Burman K, Darian-Smith C.  Exp Brain Res.  1999; 128 (1-2): 101-8
• Manual dexterity: how does the cerebral cortex contribute? Darian-Smith I,  Galea MP, Darian-Smith C.  Clin Exp Pharmacol Physiol.  1996 Oct-Nov; 23 (10-11): 948-56
• The anatomy of manual dexterity. The new connectivity of the primate sensorimotor thalamus and cerebral cortex. Darian-Smith I,  Galea MP, Darian-Smith C, Sugitani M, Tan A, Burman K.  Adv Anat Embryol Cell Biol.  1996; 133 1-140
• Topographic reorganization in the striate cortex of the adult cat and monkey is cortically mediated. Darian-Smith C,  Gilbert CD.  J Neurosci.  1995; 15 (3 Pt 1): 1631-47
• Axonal sprouting accompanies functional reorganization in adult cat striate cortex. Darian-Smith C,  Gilbert CD.  Nature.  1994; 368 (6473): 737-40
• Thalamic projections to areas 3a, 3b, and 4 in the sensorimotor cortex of the mature and infant macaque monkey. Darian-Smith C,  Darian-Smith I.  J Comp Neurol.  1993; 335 (2): 173-99
• Ipsilateral cortical projections to areas 3a, 3b, and 4 in the macaque monkey. Darian-Smith C,  Darian-Smith I, Burman K, Ratcliffe N.  J Comp Neurol.  1993; 335 (2): 200-13
• Thalamic projections to sensorimotor cortex in the macaque monkey: use of multiple retrograde fluorescent tracers. Darian-Smith C,  Darian-Smith I, Cheema SS.  J Comp Neurol.  1990; 299 (1): 17-46
• Thalamic projections to sensorimotor cortex in the newborn macaque. Darian-Smith C,  Darian-Smith I, Cheema SS.  J Comp Neurol.  1990; 299 (1): 47-63
• An evolutionary link for developing mammalian lungs. Maloney JE,  Darian-Smith C, Russell B, Varghese M, Cooper J, Limpus CJ.  J Dev Physiol.  1989; 12 (3): 153-5