scholarly journals Novel Method for Analyzing Locomotor Ability After Spinal Cord Injury in Rats: Technical Note

2013 ◽  
Vol 53 (12) ◽  
pp. 907-913 ◽  
Author(s):  
Munehisa SHINOZAKI ◽  
Akimasa YASUDA ◽  
Satoshi NORI ◽  
Nobuhito SAITO ◽  
Yoshiaki TOYAMA ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Technical Note ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
Novel Method ◽  
Locomotor Ability

scholarly journals Limits of locomotor ability in subjects with a spinal cord injury

Spinal Cord ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 43 (10) ◽  
pp. 593-603 ◽  
Author(s):  
H J A van Hedel ◽  
B Wirth ◽  
V Dietz
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
Locomotor Ability

scholarly journals Following Spinal Cord Injury Transected Reticulospinal Tract Axons Develop New Collateral Inputs to Spinal Interneurons in Parallel with Locomotor Recovery

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zacnicte May ◽  
Keith K. Fenrich ◽  
Julia Dahlby ◽  
Nicholas J. Batty ◽  
Abel Torres-Espín ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Grey Matter ◽  
Enhanced Recovery ◽  
Incomplete Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Locomotor Recovery ◽  
Spinal Interneurons ◽  
Reticulospinal Tract ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
Locomotor Ability

The reticulospinal tract (RtST) descends from the reticular formation and terminates in the spinal cord. The RtST drives the initiation of locomotion and postural control. RtST axons form new contacts with propriospinal interneurons (PrINs) after incomplete spinal cord injury (SCI); however, it is unclear if injured or uninjured axons make these connections. We completely transected all traced RtST axons in rats using a staggered model, where a hemisection SCI at vertebra T10 is followed by a contralateral hemisection at vertebra T7. In one group of the animals, the T7 SCI was performed 2 weeks after the T10 SCI (delayed; dSTAG), and in another group, the T10 and T7 SCIs were concomitant (cSTAG). dSTAG animals had significantly more RtST-PrIN contacts in the grey matter compared to cSTAG animals (p<0.05). These results were accompanied by enhanced locomotor recovery with dSTAG animals significantly outperforming cSTAG animals (BBB test;p<0.05). This difference suggests that activity in neuronal networks below the first SCI may contribute to enhanced recovery, because dSTAG rats recovered locomotor ability before the second hemisection. In conclusion, our findings support the hypothesis that the injured RtST forms new connections and is a key player in the recovery of locomotion post-SCI.

scholarly journals Novel Concept of Motor Functional Analysis for Spinal Cord Injury in Adult Mice

2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Munehisa Shinozaki ◽  
Yuichiro Takahashi ◽  
Masahiko Mukaino ◽  
Nobuhito Saito ◽  
Yoshiaki Toyama ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Open Field ◽  
Injury Severity ◽  
Basic Research ◽  
Maximum Speed ◽  
Adult Mice ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
Novel Method ◽  
Novel Concept

In basic research on spinal cord injury (SCI), behavioral evaluation of the SCI animal model is critical. However, it is difficult to accurately evaluate function in the mouse SCI model due to the small size of mice. Although the open-field scoring scale is an outstanding appraisal method, supplementary objective tests are required. Using a compact SCANET system, in which a mouse carries out free movement for 5 min, we developed a novel method to detect locomotor ability. A SCANET system samples the horizontal coordinates of a mouse every 0.1 s, and both the speed and acceleration of its motion are calculated at each moment. It was found that the maximum speed and acceleration of motion over 5 min varied by injury severity. Moreover, these values were significantly correlated with open-field scores. The maximum speed and acceleration of SCI model mice using a SCANET system are objective, easy to obtain, and reproducible for evaluating locomotive function.

scholarly journals Locomotion After Spinal Cord Injury Depends on Constitutive Activity in Serotonin Receptors

2010 ◽  
Vol 104 (6) ◽  
pp. 2975-2984 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Fouad ◽  
M. M. Rank ◽  
R. Vavrek ◽  
K. C. Murray ◽  
L. Sanelli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Positive Control ◽  
Receptor Activity ◽  
Constitutive Activity ◽  
Weight Support ◽  
Injury Model ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
It Application ◽  
Locomotor Ability

Following spinal cord injury (SCI) neurons caudal to the injury are capable of rhythmic locomotor-related activity that can form the basis for substantial functional recovery of stepping despite the loss of crucial brain stem-derived neuromodulators like serotonin (5-HT). Here we investigated the contribution of constitutive 5-HT2 receptor activity (activity in the absence of 5-HT) to locomotion after SCI. We used a staggered hemisection injury model in rats to study this because these rats showed a robust recovery of locomotor function and yet a loss of most descending axons. Immunolabeling for 5-HT showed little remaining 5-HT below the injury, and locomotor ability was not correlated with the amount of residual 5-HT. Furthermore, blocking 5-HT2 receptors with an intrathecal (IT) application of the neutral antagonist SB242084 did not affect locomotion (locomotor score and kinematics were unaffected), further indicating that residual 5-HT below the injury did not contribute to generation of locomotion. As a positive control, we found that the same application of SB242084 completely antagonized the muscle activity induced by exogenous application of the 5-HT2 receptor agonists alpha-methyl-5-HT (IT). In contrast, blocking constitutive 5-HT2 receptor activity with the potent inverse agonist SB206553 (IT) severely impaired stepping as assessed with kinematic recordings, eliminating most hindlimb weight support and overall reducing the locomotor score in both hind legs. However, even in the most severely impaired animals, rhythmic sweeping movements of the hindlimb feet were still visible during forelimb locomotion, suggesting that SB206553 did not completely eliminate locomotor drive to the motoneurons or motoneuron excitability. The same application of SB206553 had no affect on stepping in normal rats. Thus while normal rats can compensate for loss of 5-HT2 receptor activity, after severe spinal cord injury rats require constitutive activity in these 5-HT2 receptors to produce locomotion.

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