The lower urinary tract has two main functions, storage and elimination. The micturition reflex is one of the autonomic reflexes mediated by the spinobulbospinal reflex pathway that passes through the pontine micturition center. This reflex pathway is in turn modulated by higher centers in the cerebral cortex that are involved in the voluntary control of micturition. Due to the complexity of the neural control of lower urinary tract, micturition is sensitive to numerous injuries, such as spinal cord injury, cerebral infarction, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis and spina bifida, which result in various types of neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction. Studies in animals for these diseases involved in the central nervous system indicate that the lower urinary tract dysfunction is dependent in part on plasticity of the neural pathways controlling the lower urinary tract. Reflex plasticity is also associated with changes in the properties of ion channels, receptors, and numerous mediators. These animal models may help to investigate the mechanism involved in the genesis of pathological conditions as well as the plasticity in reflex pathways to the lower urinary tract after neurogenic lesions.
New Frontiers of Basic Science Research in Neurogenic Lower Urinary Tract Dysfunction