Rehabilitative training following unilateral pyramidotomy in adult rats improves forelimb function in a non-task-specific way

Starkey, Malcolm; Bleul, Christiane; Maier, Irin C.; Schwab, Martin E.

doi:10.1016/j.expneurol.2011.08.006

Cited by 45 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…42, 43 García-Alías et al 36 demonstrated a similar result; they found that reach training alone does not increase the number of sprouting fibers from the unlesioned lateral and ventral CST following cervical cord injury. In contrast, Starkey et al 44 reported that reach training following unilateral pyramidotomy increased crossing CST fibers in C3–C6. The reason for these differences is unknown, but it might be due to variability in the CNS injury models and subsequent spared neural networks.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Bilateral movement training promotes axonal remodeling of the corticospinal tract and recovery of motor function following traumatic brain injury in mice

et al. 2013

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Traumatic brain injury (TBI) results in severe motor function impairment, and subsequent recovery is often incomplete. Rehabilitative training is considered to promote restoration of the injured neural network, thus facilitating functional recovery. However, no studies have assessed the effect of such trainings in the context of neural rewiring. Here, we investigated the effects of two types of rehabilitative training on corticospinal tract (CST) plasticity and motor recovery in mice. We injured the unilateral motor cortex with contusion, which induced hemiparesis on the contralesional side. After the injury, mice performed either a single pellet-reaching task (simple repetitive training) or a rotarod task (bilateral movement training). Multiple behavioral tests were then used to assess forelimb motor function recovery: staircase, ladder walk, capellini handling, single pellet, and rotarod tests. The TBI+rotarod group performed most forelimb motor tasks (staircase, ladder walk, and capellini handling tests) better than the TBI-only group did. In contrast, the TBI+reaching group did not perform better except in the single pellet test. After the injury, the contralateral CST, labeled by biotinylated dextran amine, formed sprouting fibers into the denervated side of the cervical spinal cord. The number of these fibers was significantly higher in the TBI+rotarod group, whereas it did not increase in the TBI+reaching group. These results indicate that bilateral movement training effectively promotes axonal rewiring and motor function recovery, whereas the effect of simple repetitive training is limited.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Bilateral movement training promotes axonal remodeling of the corticospinal tract and recovery of motor function following traumatic brain injury in mice

et al. 2013

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“…Most of these show a functional motor deficit 1 week after injury. Currently, most studies described in the literature only perform behavioural testing up to 42 days 4,11,13,20,21 , or for a shorter time 3,18,22 . We have performed behavioural testing for a prolonged period of time and have seen essentially full recovery of motor function 8 weeks post pyramidotomy for some of the behavioural tests, except the Montoya staircase test and the horizontal ladder test.…”

Section: Behavioural Outcomesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Other tests described in the literature are the pellet reaching test, rope climbing test, gait analysis and the sticky tape test 3,[17][18][19] . However, the outcomes of most behavioural test are often only monitored up to a maximum of 42 days postlesion 3,4,11,17,18,[20][21][22] . From past experiences, rodents recover most function at later time points without any treatment intervention.…”

Section: Electrophysiological Testingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unilateral Pyramidotomy of the Corticospinal Tract in Rats for Assessment of Neuroplasticity-inducing Therapies

Kathe

Hutson

Chen

et al. 2014

JoVE

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The corticospinal tract (CST) can be completely severed unilaterally in the medullary pyramids of the rodent brainstem. The CST is a motor tract that has great importance for distal muscle control in humans and, to a lesser extent, in rodents. A unilateral cut of one pyramid results in loss of CST innervation of the spinal cord mainly on the contralateral side of the spinal cord leading to transient motor disability in the forelimbs and sustained loss of dexterity. Ipsilateral projections of the corticospinal tract are minor. We have refined our surgical method to increase the chances of lesion completeness. We describe postsurgical care. Deficits on the Montoya staircase pellet reaching test and the horizontal ladder test shown here are detected up to 8 weeks postinjury. Deficits on the cylinder rearing test are only detected transiently. Therefore, the cylinder test may only be suitable for detection of short term recovery. We show how, electrophysiologically and anatomically, one may assess lesions and plastic changes. We also describe how to analyse fibers from the uninjured CST sprouting across the midline into the deprived areas. It is challenging to obtain >90% complete lesions consistently due to the proximity to the basilar artery in the medulla oblongata and survival rates can be low. Alternative surgical approaches and behavioural testing are described in this protocol. The pyramidotomy model is a good tool for assessing neuroplasticity-inducing treatments, which increase sprouting of intact fibers after injury.

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“…Comparison of lesion characteristics and reaching training scores in a meta-analysis of a large number of animals indicate that the 'threshold lesion' for IF training effects to emerge may be a lesion slightly smaller than the one used in this study, with complete ablation of the dorsal CST and slight damage to the rubrospinal projection (Hurt et al, submitted for publication). This also becomes evident when comparing the limited performance of rats in this study with pyramidotomized, similarly trained rats [12].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 65%

Training following unilateral cervical spinal cord injury in rats affects the contralesional forelimb

Weishaupt

Vavrek

Fouad

2013

Neuroscience Letters

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Rehabilitative training following unilateral pyramidotomy in adult rats improves forelimb function in a non-task-specific way

Cited by 45 publications

References 57 publications

Bilateral movement training promotes axonal remodeling of the corticospinal tract and recovery of motor function following traumatic brain injury in mice

Bilateral movement training promotes axonal remodeling of the corticospinal tract and recovery of motor function following traumatic brain injury in mice

Unilateral Pyramidotomy of the Corticospinal Tract in Rats for Assessment of Neuroplasticity-inducing Therapies

Training following unilateral cervical spinal cord injury in rats affects the contralesional forelimb

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