Quantitative Kinematic Characterization of Reaching Impairments in Mice After a Stroke

Lai, Stefano; Panarese, Alessandro; Spalletti, Cristina; Alia, Claudia; Ghionzoli, A.; Caleo, Matteo; Micera, Silvestro

doi:10.1177/1545968314545174

Cited by 50 publications

(85 citation statements)

References 31 publications

(81 reference statements)

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“…2d–f). Slower, more-variable and more-extraneous movements are observed in the paretic forelimb of rodents after motor system damage than in intact animals 65,67,68 . To reach for food rewards with the paretic forelimb, rodents use compensatory rotational movements of the trunk to extend and control paw position, and use compensatory trunk and head movements to bring the mouth to the paw 16,63,69 .…”

Section: Compensatory Movement Strategiesmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…Several studies in rodent models of stroke have found that a few weeks of daily training of the paretic forelimb in skilled reaching tasks can improve performance (as measured by the successful retrieval of food rewards), even when abnormalities in the paretic limb movements that are used to perform the task persist, suggesting that the improvements result from compensatory strategies 68,69,93,94 . In rats with substantial motor cortical infarcts, the performance improvements were greatly diminished if the non-paretic forelimb was kept in a sling during daily training, indicating that assistive movements of this limb probably contributed to the improvements 16 .…”

Section: Learning To Compensatementioning

confidence: 99%

“…This includes grid-walking, ladder-walking and beam-walking tests, skilled reaching tests and rotarod tests, as they are normally performed. The gold standard for distinguishing motor recovery from compensation is to perform kinematic (geometry of movement) analyses 65,68,140 , but this is currently challenging to do routinely (because the skin markers that are commonly used in kinematic systems to automatically track joint positions do not work well on rodent forelimbs). Automated measures of rodent movement that are in development 140,141 may help to overcome this obstacle.…”

Section: Figure 1 |mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Motor compensation and its effects on neural reorganization after stroke

2017

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Stroke instigates a dynamic process of repair and remodelling of remaining neural circuits, and this process is shaped by behavioural experiences. The onset of motor disability simultaneously creates a powerful incentive to develop new, compensatory ways of performing daily activities. Compensatory movement strategies that are developed in response to motor impairments can be a dominant force in shaping post-stroke neural remodelling responses and can have mixed effects on functional outcome. The possibility of selectively harnessing the effects of compensatory behaviour on neural reorganization is still an insufficiently explored route for optimizing functional outcome after stroke.

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Section: Compensatory Movement Strategiesmentioning

confidence: 93%

Section: Learning To Compensatementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Figure 1 |mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Motor compensation and its effects on neural reorganization after stroke

2017

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“…However, assays for mice need to be developed independently from those utilized in rats since neither training nor performance patterns necessarily overlap between the species. Existing tests meeting these criteria such as skilled pellet retrieval reaching tasks 3-5 can be time consuming to train and score, especially in a manner producing continuous quantification. When behavior is automatically measured rather than scored visually, it can be more easily quantified to a finer degree than is practical with visual scoring.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Here, we describe this assay, which requires the coordination of several forearm muscles. Like existing skilled reach tasks, this assay requires a mouse to reach through a slit to grasp an object in a manner amenable to automated or hand-scored motion analysis 3 , however unlike existing tests the subsequent force exertion on the object is highly constrained and isometric. The task precludes behavioral compensation, shows lasting deficits as a result of photothrombotic cortical stroke, allows for flexibility in different aspects of behavioral measurement, can be trained in a partially automated fashion without close attention, and can be consistently applied in large numbers of mice with efficiency and precision.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An automated task for the training and assessment of distal forelimb function in a mouse model of ischemic stroke

Becker

Meyers

Sloan

et al. 2016

Journal of Neuroscience Methods

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Background Behavioral models relevant to stroke research seek to capture important aspects of motor skill typically impaired in human patients, such as coordination of distal musculature. Such models may focus on mice since many genetic tools are available for use only in that species, and since the training and behavioral demands of mice can differ from rats even for superficially similar behavioral readouts. However, current mouse tests are time consuming to train and score, especially in a manner producing continuous quantification. An automated assay of mouse forelimb function may provide advantages for quantification and speed, and may be useful for many applications including stroke research. New Method We present an automated assay of distal forelimb function. In this task, mice reach forward, grip and pull an isometric handle with a prescribed force. The apparatus partially automates the training process so that mice can be trained quickly and simultaneously. Results Using this apparatus, it is possible to measure long-lasting impairment in success rate, force pulled, latency to pull, and latency to success up to 22 weeks following photothrombotic cortical strokes in mice. Comparison with Existing Method(s) This assessment measures forelimb function as do pellet reach tasks, however it utilizes a different motion and provides automatic measures that can ease and augment the research process. Conclusions This high-throughput behavioral assay can detect long-lasting motor impairments, eliminates the need for subjective scoring, and produces a rich, continuous data set from which many aspects of the reach and grasp motion can be automatically extracted.

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Post‐Stroke Hemiplegic Rodent Evaluation: A Framework for Assessing Forelimb Movement Quality Using Kinematics

2022

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Kinematics is the gold-standard method for measuring detailed joint motions. Recent research demonstrates that post-stroke kinematic analysis in rats reveals reaching abnormalities similar to those seen in humans after stroke. Nonetheless, behavioral neuroscientists have failed to incorporate kinematic methods for assessing movement quality in stroke models. The availability of a userfriendly method to assess multi-segment forelimb kinematics models should greatly increase uptake of this approach. Here, we present a framework for multi-segment forelimb analysis in rodents after stroke. This method greatly enhances the understanding of post-stroke forelimb motor recovery by including several movement quality metrics often used in human clinical work, such as upper-limb linear and angular kinematics, movement smoothness and kinetics, abnormal synergies, and compensations. These metrics may constitute a preclinical surrogate for the Fugl-Meyer assessment of hemiplegic patients. The data obtained using this method are 83 outputs of linear and angular kinematics and kinetics. The outputs also include 24 time series of continuous data, which afford a graphical representation of the kinematics and kinetics of the reaching cycle. We show that post-stroke rodents displayed many features resembling those seen in humans after stroke that are evident only when multisegment kinematics models are considered. This method expands the knowledge derived from methods constrained to paw movements to a multi-segment forelimb movement quality framework. Moreover, it highlights the need for preclinical work to consider more sensitive measures of sensorimotor impairment and recovery as a means to enhance the interpretation of true recovery and compensation.

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Quantitative Kinematic Characterization of Reaching Impairments in Mice After a Stroke

Cited by 50 publications

References 31 publications

Motor compensation and its effects on neural reorganization after stroke

Motor compensation and its effects on neural reorganization after stroke

An automated task for the training and assessment of distal forelimb function in a mouse model of ischemic stroke

Post‐Stroke Hemiplegic Rodent Evaluation: A Framework for Assessing Forelimb Movement Quality Using Kinematics

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