Induction of hindlimb stepping movements in rats spinally transected as adults or as neonates
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Cited by (26)
Locomotor deficits induced by lumbar muscle inflammation involve spinal microglia and are independent of KCC2 expression in a mouse model of complete spinal transection
2021, Experimental NeurologyCitation Excerpt :Locomotor evaluations of the spinally transected mice or step-training sessions were performed while animals were provided with 1) a platform overhanging the treadmill on which they can rest their forelimbs, 2) balance from tail holding by the experimenter and 3) tail pinching. The latter has been experimentally recognized as a non-invasive stimulation that allows stepping generation in animals transected as adults (Meisel and Rakerd, 1982) and used to study locomotor recovery after spinal transection by our group (Jeffrey-Gauthier et al., 2018a; Leblond et al., 2003) and others (Sławińska et al., 2014). This amount was set individually for each animal to the lowest pressure that induced locomotion.
Range of motion (ROM) restriction influences quipazine-induced stepping behavior in postnatal day one and day ten rats
2014, Behavioural Brain ResearchCitation Excerpt :This paradigm is referred to as air-stepping. Common methods for evoking air-stepping in developing rats in vivo include presentation of olfactory stimuli, tail pinch, or treatment with pharmacological agents such as quipazine [10–14]. Quipazine is a 5-HT receptor agonist that has been shown to induce locomotor behavior in prenatal [15] and postnatal rats [11,12,16].
The Brain and Spinal Cord Networks Controlling Locomotion
2014, Neuronal Networks in Brain Function, CNS Disorders, and TherapeuticsGrafting of fetal brainstem 5-HT neurons into the sublesional spinal cord of paraplegic rats restores coordinated hindlimb locomotion
2013, Experimental NeurologyCitation Excerpt :The rats were suspended above a treadmill with the forelimbs and thorax placed on a platform above the moving belt, and tail pinch was used to elicit hindlimb movements. Stimulation of tail or perineal area afferents has been used for eliciting locomotion in cases of complete spinal cord transection (Lev-Tov et al., 2010; Meisel and Rakerd, 1982; Pearson and Rossignol, 1991; Rossignol et al., 2006; Sławińska et al., 2012a), and has been used in all prior attempts to reveal locomotor recovery after 5-HT transplants (Feraboli-Lohnherr et al., 1997; Gimenez y Ribotta et al., 2000; Majczyński et al., 2005; Sławińska et al., 2000). The tail stimulus was adjusted by the experimenter to maximize the quality of plantar stepping.
Tail nerve electrical stimulation combined with scar ablation and neural transplantation promotes locomotor recovery in rats with chronically contused spinal cord
2012, Brain ResearchCitation Excerpt :Recently we developed a technique, tail nerve electrical stimulation (TANES)-dependent physical therapy, which can directly trigger the activation of the CPG below the lesion level through the tail nerves, resulting in temporary body weight-supported plantar stepping with characteristic features of active, alternative movement of left–right hind limbs and coordination of front–hind limbs in rats with chronically contused spinal cord (Zhang et al., 2010). This is similar to an early study in which the spinally transected rats were induced to exhibit a strong tendency to step with alternating limbs during tail pinch (Meisel and Rakerd, 1982). The TANES may also have an effect analogous with that of epidural stimulation which enabled the SCI patient to achieve full weight-bear standing and stepping with assistance during stimulation (Harkema et al., 2011).
Locomotor recovery in chronic spinal rat: Long-term pharmacological treatment or transplantation of embryonic neurons?
2002, Progress in Brain Research
The research was supported by a USPHS Research Grant (HD-08933) to B. D. Sachs, and by a grant from the University of Connecticut Research Foundation.
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We extend special thanks to Benjamin Sachs and Michael Turvey for their comments on this manuscript.