Górska Teresa, Chojnicka-Gittins Barbara, Majczyński Henryk, Zmysłowski Wojciech
Department of Neurophysiology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland.
J Neurotrauma. 2007 Jul;24(7):1198-218. doi: 10.1089/neu.2006.0219.
In rats with incomplete low thoracic spinal cord lesions of different extents, the basic indices of gait such as locomotor velocity, step and stance phase duration and the duty factor (i.e., the relative duration of the stance phase) during overground runway locomotion were analyzed using contact electrodes on each paw for data recording. In animals with lesions confined to the dorsal columns (DC), tested 3 weeks postsurgery, these gait indices were essentially unchanged compared to the preoperative period. After the same recovery period, rats with larger lesions, comprising the dorsal columns plus a major part of the dorsolateral funiculi (DL), showed a transient increase in the hindlimb stance phase duration and the duty factor. More extensive injuries, with additional damage to parts of the ventrolateral and ventral funiculi (VL), produced increments in the stance phase duration and duty factor much above that which would be expected from changes in step cycle duration due to slowing down of locomotion. These changes, which lasted for at least 3 months, were more conspicuous in animals with extensive spinal cord injuries and were due to an altered relationship between the stance phase and step cycle duration. It is suggested that the excessive increment in the hindlimb stance phase and the duty factor constitute a reliable indicator of impairment in locomotor movements, which is correlated with the extent of spinal cord injury.
在不同程度的胸段脊髓不完全损伤大鼠中，使用置于每只爪子上的接触电极记录数据，分析了其在地面跑道运动时的步态基本指标，如运动速度、步幅、站立相持续时间以及负荷系数（即站立相的相对持续时间）。对于术后3周接受测试的仅背侧柱（DC）损伤的动物，这些步态指标与术前相比基本未变。在相同的恢复期后，损伤范围更大（包括背侧柱加大部分背外侧索（DL））的大鼠，其 hindlimb 站立相持续时间和负荷系数出现短暂增加。更广泛的损伤（额外损伤腹外侧和腹侧索（VL）的部分区域）导致站立相持续时间和负荷系数的增加幅度远高于因运动减慢导致步周期持续时间变化所预期的幅度。这些持续至少3个月的变化在脊髓损伤广泛的动物中更为明显，是由于站立相和步周期持续时间之间的关系改变所致。有人提出，hindlimb 站立相和负荷系数的过度增加构成了运动障碍的可靠指标，这与脊髓损伤的程度相关。
