Journal of neuroscience methods
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J. Neurosci. Methods · Aug 2014
A reproducible Endothelin-1 model of forelimb motor cortex stroke in the mouse.
Despite the availability of numerous transgenic mouse lines to study the role of individual genes in promoting neural repair following stroke, few studies have availed of this technology, primarily due to the lack of a reproducible ischemic injury model in the mouse. Intracortical injections of Endothelin-1 (ET1) a potent vasoconstrictive agent, reliably produces focal infarcts with concomitant behavioral deficits in rats. In contrast, ET1 infarcts in mice are significantly smaller and do not generate consistent behavioral deficits. ⋯ We have developed a focal ischemic injury model in the mouse that results in reproducible behavioral deficits and can be used to test future regenerative therapies.
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J. Neurosci. Methods · Aug 2014
A novel traumatic brain injury model for induction of mild brain injury in rats.
Due to the marked heterogeneity of human traumatic brain injury (TBI), none of the available animal model can reproduce the entire spectrum of TBI, especially mild focal TBI. This study was designed to develop a modified TBI weight drop model for induction of focal mild cerebral injury. ⋯ This novel animal TBI model mimics human mild focal brain injury. This model is suitable for evaluation of pathophysiology as well as screening of new therapies for mild TBI.
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J. Neurosci. Methods · Aug 2014
A method to enhance the magnitude of tactile hypersensitivity following spinal nerve ligation in rats.
The rat L5/L6 spinal nerve ligation model (SNL) has been widely used to investigate putative analgesics. Pursuit of novel therapies in preclinical settings requires models with consistent and reproducible phenotypes. ⋯ Our data indicate that tactile priming during the 2 weeks immediately after SNL surgery enhances the magnitude of tactile hypersensitivity in the SNL model, and provide an optimized assay for evaluating putative analgesics.