• Nader Ghasemlou, Bradley J Kerr, and Samuel David.
• Center for Research in Neuroscience, Research Institute of the McGill University Health Center, Montreal General Hospital Research Institute, Livingston Hall, Room L7-210, 1650 Cedar Avenue, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H3G 1A4.
• Exp. Neurol. 2005 Nov 1; 196 (1): 9-17.

AbstractSpinal cord contusion injury in rodents is widely used as a model for spinal cord trauma in humans. Several biomechanical variables can influence injury outcome. In this work, we have assessed the influence of impact force and displacement of the spinal cord at the time of contusion injury on the severity of locomotor deficits and histopathological changes. Our work indicates that there is a linear relationship between force and tissue displacement, and that both these factors contribute to injury outcome. Furthermore, our work also suggests that setting narrow limits for the actual force applied (+/-5 kdyn) and tissue displacement (within a 200 microm range) will yield more consistent outcomes and provide greater sensitivity in detecting changes, regardless of the type of impactor device used.

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