The Vermicelli Handling Test: A simple quantitative measure of dexterous forepaw function in rats

Journal of Neuroscience Methods

Volumn 170, Issue 2, 2008, Pages 229-244

  Allred, Rachel P ^a   Adkins, DeAnna L ^a,b,c   Woodlee, Martin T ^a   Husbands, Lincoln C ^a   Maldonado, Mónica A ^a   Kane, Jacqueline R ^a   Schallert, Timothy ^a   Jones, Theresa A ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN   (United States)

^b VETERANS AFFAIRS MEDICAL CENTER   (United States)

^c UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA COLLEGE OF MEDICINE   (United States)

Author keywords

Brain injury; Limb use; Manual dexterity; Motor skills; Parkinson's disease; Reaching; Stroke; Upper extremity impairment

Indexed keywords

ANIMAL BEHAVIOR; ANIMAL EXPERIMENT; ANIMAL MODEL; ARM; ARTICLE; BRAIN CORTEX LESION; BRAIN INJURY; CONTROLLED STUDY; FOREFOOT; FUNCTIONAL ASSESSMENT; HAND FUNCTION; MALE; MEASUREMENT; MOTOR PERFORMANCE; NONHUMAN; PARKINSON DISEASE; PRIORITY JOURNAL; QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS; RAT; SENSORIMOTOR FUNCTION;

3,4-DIHYDROXYPHENYLACETIC ACID; ANIMALS; DOPAMINE; FOOD; FORELIMB; HOMOVANILLIC ACID; INFARCTION, MIDDLE CEREBRAL ARTERY; MALE; MOTOR CORTEX; MOTOR SKILLS; NEOSTRIATUM; OBSERVER VARIATION; OXIDOPAMINE; PSYCHOMOTOR PERFORMANCE; RATS; RATS, SPRAGUE-DAWLEY; SOMATOSENSORY CORTEX; STEREOTAXIC TECHNIQUES; SYMPATHOLYTICS;

EID: 41949109357     PISSN: 01650270     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2008.01.015     Document Type: Article

References (41)

1. Adkins D.L., Voorhies A.C., and Jones T.A. Behavioral and neuroplastic effects of focal endothelin-1 induced sensorimotor cortex lesions. Neuroscience 128 (2004) 473-486
2. Adkins D.L., Campos P., Quach D., Borromeo M., Schallert K., and Jones T.A. Epidural cortical stimulation enhances motor function after sensorimotor cortical infarcts in rats. Exp Neurol 200 (2006) 356-370
3. Allred R.P., and Jones T.A. Unilateral ischemic sensorimotor cortical damage in female rats: forelimb behavioral effects and dendritic structural plasticity in the contralateral homotopic cortex. Exp Neurol 190 (2004) 433-445
4. Allred R.P., and Jones T.A. Maladaptive effects of learning with the less-affected forelimb after cortical infarcts in rats. Exp Neurol 210 (2008) 172-181
5. Ballermann M., Metz G.A., McKenna J.E., Klassen F., and Whishaw I.Q. The pasta matrix reaching task: a simple test for measuring skilled reaching distance, direction, and dexterity in rats. J Neurosci Methods 106 (2001) 39-45
6. Biernaskie J., and Corbett D. Enriched rehabilitative training promotes improved forelimb motor function and enhanced dendritic growth after focal ischemic injury. J Neurosci 21 (2001) 5272-5280
7. Brácha V., Zhuravin I.A., and Bureš J. The reaching reaction in the rat: a part of the digging pattern?. Behav Brain Res 36 (1990) 53-64
8. Castro A.J. Motor performance in rats. The effects of pyramidal tract section. Brain Res 44 (1972) 313-323
9. Cenci M.A., Whishaw I.Q., and Schallert T. Animal models of neurological deficits: how relevant is the rat?. Nat Rev Neurosci 3 (2002) 574-579
10. Conner J.M., Culberson A., Packowski C., Chiba A.A., and Tuszynski M.H. Lesions of the basal forebrain cholinergic system impair task acquisition and abolish cortical plasticity associated with motor skill learning. Neuron 38 (2003) 819-829
11. DeBow S.B., Davies M.L., Clarke H.L., and Colbourne F. Constraint-induced movement therapy and rehabilitation exercises lessen motor deficits and volume of brain injury after striatal hemorrhagic stroke in rats. Stroke 34 (2003) 1021-1026
12. Dittmar M., Spruss T., Schuierer G., and Horn M. External carotid artery territory ischemia impairs outcome in the endovascular filament model of middle cerebral artery occlusion in rats. Stroke 34 (2003) 2252-2257
13. Donoghue J.P., and Wise S.P. The motor cortex of the rat: cytoarchitecture and microstimulation mapping. J Comp Neurol 212 (1982) 76-88
14. Gomez C., Santiago-Mejia J., Ventura-Martinez R., and Rodriguez R. The sunflower seed test: a simple procedure to evaluate forelimb motor dysfunction after brain ischemia. Drug Dev Res (2006) 67
15. Gonzalez C.L., and Kolb B. A comparison of different models of stroke on behaviour and brain morphology. Eur J Neurosci 18 (2003) 1950-1962
16. Greenough W.T., Larson J.R., and Withers G.S. Effects of unilateral and bilateral training in a reaching task on dendritic branching of neurons in the rat motor-sensory forelimb cortex. Behav Neural Biol 44 (1985) 301-314
17. Ivanco T.L., Pellis S.M., and Whishaw I.Q. Skilled forelimb movements in prey catching and in reaching by rats (Rattus norvegicus) and opossums (Monodelphis domestica): relations to anatomical differences in motor systems. Behav Brain Res 79 (1996) 163-181
18. Iwaniuk A.N., and Whishaw I.Q. On the origin of skilled forelimb movements. Trends Neurosci 23 (2000) 372-376
19. Kalil K., and Schneider G.E. Motor performance following unilateral pyramidal tract lesions in the hamster. Brain Res 100 (1975) 170-174
20. Kleim J.A., and Jones T.A. Principles of experience-dependent neural plasticity: Implications for rehabilitation after brain damage. J Speech Lang Hear R 51 (2008) S225-S239
21. Kleim J.A., Bruneau R., Calder K., Pocock D., VandenBerg P.M., MacDonald E., et al. Functional organization of adult motor cortex is dependent upon continued protein synthesis. Neuron 40 (2003) 167-176
22. Kolb B., and Holmes C. Neonatal motor cortex lesions in the rat: absence of sparing of motor behaviors and impaired spatial learning concurrent with abnormal cerebral morphogenesis. Behav Neurosci 97 (1983) 697-709
23. Kolb B., Whishaw I.Q., and Schallert T. Aphagia, behavior sequencing and body weight set point following orbital frontal lesions in rats. Physiol Behav 19 (1977) 93-103
24. Maldonado MA, Allred, RP, Felthauser, EL, Jones TA. Rehabilitative training, but not voluntary running, improves recovery of skilled reaching after unilateral ischemic lesions of the sensorimotor cortex in rats. Neurorehabil Neural Repair, doi:10.1177/1545968307308551, in press.
25. Metz G.A., Antonow-Schlorke I., and Witte O.W. Motor improvements after focal cortical ischemia in adult rats are mediated by compensatory mechanisms. Behav Brain Res 162 (2005) 71-82
26. Montoya C.P., Campbell-Hope L.J., Pemberton K.D., and Dunnett S.B. The "staircase test": a measure of independent forelimb reaching and grasping abilities in rats. J Neurosci Methods 36 (1991) 219-228
27. Nichols C.M., Myckatyn T.M., Rickman S.R., Fox I.K., Hadlock T., and Mackinnon S.E. Choosing the correct functional assay: a comprehensive assessment of functional tests in the rat. Behav Brain Res 163 (2005) 143-158
28. Peterson G.M. Mechanism of handedness in the rat. Comp Psychol Monographs 9 (1934) 1-67
29. Peterson G.M. Reeducation of handedness in the rat following cerebral injuries. J Comp Physiol Psychol 44 (1951) 191-196
30. Salamone J.D., Mahan K., and Rogers S. Ventrolateral striatal dopamine depletions impair feeding and food handling in rats. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 44 (1993) 605-610
31. Sharkey J., and Butcher S.P. Characterisation of an experimental model of stroke produced by intracerebral microinjection of endothelin-1 adjacent to the rat middle cerebral artery. J Neurosci Methods 60 (1995) 125-131
32. Voorhies A.C., and Jones T.A. The behavioral and dendritic growth effects of focal sensorimotor cortical damage depend on the method of lesion induction. Behav Brain Res 133 (2002) 237-246
33. Whishaw I.Q. Lateralization and reaching skill related: results and implications from a large sample of Long-Evans rats. Behav Brain Res 52 (1992) 45-48
34. Whishaw I.Q., and Coles B.L. Varieties of paw and digit movement during spontaneous food handling in rats: postures, bimanual coordination, preferences, and the effect of forelimb cortex lesions. Behav Brain Res 77 (1996) 135-148
35. Whishaw I.Q., and Pellis S.M. The structure of skilled forelimb reaching in the rat: a proximally driven movement with a single distal rotatory component. Behav Brain Res 41 (1990) 49-59
36. Whishaw I.Q., Schallert T., and Kolb B. An analysis of feeding and sensorimotor abilities of rats after decortication. J Comp Physiol Psychol 95 (1981) 85-103
37. Whishaw I.Q., O'Connor W.T., and Dunnett S.B. The contributions of motor cortex, nigrostriatal dopamine and caudate-putamen to skilled forelimb use in the rat. Brain 109 Pt 5 (1986) 805-843
38. Whishaw I.Q., Dringenberg H.C., and Pellis S.M. Spontaneous forelimb grasping in free feeding by rats: motor cortex aids limb and digit positioning. Behav Brain Res 48 (1992) 113-125
39. Whishaw I.Q., Coles B.L., Pellis S.M., and Miklyaeva E.I. Impairments and compensation in mouth and limb use in free feeding after unilateral dopamine depletions in a rat analog of human Parkinson's disease. Behav Brain Res 84 (1997) 167-177
40. Whishaw I.Q., Sarna J.R., and Pellis S.M. Evidence for rodent-common and species-typical limb and digit use in eating, derived from a comparative analysis of ten rodent species. Behav Brain Res 96 (1998) 79-91
41. Windle V., Szymanska A., Granter-Button S., White C., Buist R., Peeling J., et al. An analysis of four different methods of producing focal cerebral ischemia with endothelin-1 in the rat. Exp Neurol 201 (2006) 324-334