Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Paw-reaching, sensorimotor, and rotational behavior after brain infarction in rats

Grabowski, Martin LU ; Brundin, Patrik LU and Johansson, Barbro LU (1993) In Stroke: a journal of cerebral circulation 24(6). p.889-895
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Functional tests that are stable and consistent over time are an advantage for long-term evaluation of treatment in experimental stroke research. Because little information on this subject is available in rodents with focal cerebral ischemia, we investigated the outcome of three behavioral tests for a period of 3 months after the insult. METHODS: Spontaneously hypertensive rats were sham-operated (n = 27) or underwent an occlusion (n = 36) of the right middle cerebral artery. Before surgery all rats were tested for amphetamine-induced rotational behavior, and half of the rats were trained in a paw-reaching task. One, 2, and 3 months after surgery the tests were repeated, together with a test for sensorimotor... (More)
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Functional tests that are stable and consistent over time are an advantage for long-term evaluation of treatment in experimental stroke research. Because little information on this subject is available in rodents with focal cerebral ischemia, we investigated the outcome of three behavioral tests for a period of 3 months after the insult. METHODS: Spontaneously hypertensive rats were sham-operated (n = 27) or underwent an occlusion (n = 36) of the right middle cerebral artery. Before surgery all rats were tested for amphetamine-induced rotational behavior, and half of the rats were trained in a paw-reaching task. One, 2, and 3 months after surgery the tests were repeated, together with a test for sensorimotor function. Infarct size was measured morphometrically. RESULTS: In the lesion group, total hemisphere area was reduced by 22%, caudate putamen by 47%, and the thalamus by 24%. Contralateral to the lesion, paw-reaching was highly impaired, regardless of whether or not the rats had been pretrained, and lesion size correlated significantly to paw-reach performance. Ipsilateral rotation increased and sensorimotor function recovered with time in infarcted rats. CONCLUSIONS: In contrast to amphetamine-induced rotation and sensorimotor behavior, the paw-reaching test provides a stable behavioral parameter after a middle cerebral artery occlusion. Moreover, the lesion-induced deficit in paw-reaching is highly correlated to the extent of the infarct, suggesting that this test is useful in evaluating treatment effects for a longer period of time. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
cerebral infarction, behavior, animal, rats
in
Stroke: a journal of cerebral circulation
volume
24
issue
6
pages
889 - 895
publisher
American Heart Association
external identifiers
  • pmid:8506561
  • scopus:0027315232
ISSN
1524-4628
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
The information about affiliations in this record was updated in December 2015. The record was previously connected to the following departments: Neurology, Lund (013027000), Neuronal Survival (013212041)
id
7274b9c9-9d78-4b52-9023-0c75acd6ac2d (old id 1107344)
alternative location
http://stroke.ahajournals.org/cgi/reprint/24/6/889
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 15:51:14
date last changed
2025-04-04 14:06:51
@article{7274b9c9-9d78-4b52-9023-0c75acd6ac2d,
  abstract     = {{BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Functional tests that are stable and consistent over time are an advantage for long-term evaluation of treatment in experimental stroke research. Because little information on this subject is available in rodents with focal cerebral ischemia, we investigated the outcome of three behavioral tests for a period of 3 months after the insult. METHODS: Spontaneously hypertensive rats were sham-operated (n = 27) or underwent an occlusion (n = 36) of the right middle cerebral artery. Before surgery all rats were tested for amphetamine-induced rotational behavior, and half of the rats were trained in a paw-reaching task. One, 2, and 3 months after surgery the tests were repeated, together with a test for sensorimotor function. Infarct size was measured morphometrically. RESULTS: In the lesion group, total hemisphere area was reduced by 22%, caudate putamen by 47%, and the thalamus by 24%. Contralateral to the lesion, paw-reaching was highly impaired, regardless of whether or not the rats had been pretrained, and lesion size correlated significantly to paw-reach performance. Ipsilateral rotation increased and sensorimotor function recovered with time in infarcted rats. CONCLUSIONS: In contrast to amphetamine-induced rotation and sensorimotor behavior, the paw-reaching test provides a stable behavioral parameter after a middle cerebral artery occlusion. Moreover, the lesion-induced deficit in paw-reaching is highly correlated to the extent of the infarct, suggesting that this test is useful in evaluating treatment effects for a longer period of time.}},
  author       = {{Grabowski, Martin and Brundin, Patrik and Johansson, Barbro}},
  issn         = {{1524-4628}},
  keywords     = {{cerebral infarction; behavior; animal; rats}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{6}},
  pages        = {{889--895}},
  publisher    = {{American Heart Association}},
  series       = {{Stroke: a journal of cerebral circulation}},
  title        = {{Paw-reaching, sensorimotor, and rotational behavior after brain infarction in rats}},
  url          = {{http://stroke.ahajournals.org/cgi/reprint/24/6/889}},
  volume       = {{24}},
  year         = {{1993}},
}