• Han Yu Seong, Ji Young Cho, Byeong Sam Choi, Joong Kee Min, KimYong HwanYHDepartment of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA., Sung Woo Roh, Jeong Hoon Kim, and Sang Ryong Jeon.
• Department of Neurological Surgery, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
• J. Korean Med. Sci. 2014 Apr 1; 29 (4): 587-92.

AbstractIntracortical microstimulation (ICMS) is a technique that was developed to derive movement representation of the motor cortex. Although rats are now commonly used in motor mapping studies, the precise characteristics of rat motor map, including symmetry and consistency across animals, and the possibility of repeated stimulation have not yet been established. We performed bilateral hindlimb mapping of motor cortex in six Sprague-Dawley rats using ICMS. ICMS was applied to the left and the right cerebral hemisphere at 0.3 mm intervals vertically and horizontally from the bregma, and any movement of the hindlimbs was noted. The majority (80%± 11%) of responses were not restricted to a single joint, which occurred simultaneously at two or three hindlimb joints. The size and shape of hindlimb motor cortex was variable among rats, but existed on the convex side of the cerebral hemisphere in all rats. The results did not show symmetry according to specific joints in each rats. Conclusively, the hindlimb representation in the rat motor cortex was conveniently mapped using ICMS, but the characteristics and inter-individual variability suggest that precise individual mapping is needed to clarify motor distribution in rats.

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