Beneficial effects of early environmental enrichment on motor development and spinal cord plasticity in a rat model of cerebral palsy

Acupuncture reduced apoptosis and up-regulated BDNF and GDNF expression in hippocampus following hypoxia–ischemia in neonatal rats

“…Open field tests were carried out to determine general locomotor activity and exploratory activity as described in a previous study with small modifications (Marques et al, 2014). The rat was individually placed in an 80 cm  80 cm  40 cm chamber with a dark gray floor divided into 16 squares.…”

Epigenetic upregulation of alpha-synuclein in the rats exposed to methamphetamine

“…Motor performance was evaluated using a rotarod apparatus as previously described (Marques et al, 2014). The animals were placed in a rotarod with 60 mm diameter textured rod, 75 mm in length, rotating at a speed of 25 rpm.…”

Characterization of a cerebral palsy‐like model in rats: Analysis of gait pattern and of brain and spinal cord motor areas

“…In this study, no differences were observed in the soma area of motoneurons between CPG and CTG. Marques et al (2014) also did not found differences in this parameter in animals submitted to prenatal injections of LPS, perinatal asphyxia and sensorimotor restriction (from P2 to P28) at 29 days of life. On the other hand, using a similar sensorimotor restriction protocol, Stigger et al (2011) showed a reduction in the soma area of motoneurons in rats at 52 days of age, being this condition restored after a period of wake locomotor stimulation.…”

“…In addition, the combination of these interventions produced more evident changes on soleus and tibial anterior muscle morphology compared to the group exposed only to the sensorimotor restriction. Other studies also confirm that prenatal LPS injections, asphyxia and sensorimotor restriction used in association during the early stages of development produce motor, cognitive and muscular deficits similar to those observed in CP patients (Marques et al, 2014;Popik et al, 2016;Meireles et al, 2017). However, the repercussions of these aggressions during embryonic and postnatal periods over the gait pattern and morphology of nervous system structures have still not been described.…”