Torres-Espín Abel, Forero Juan, Schmidt Emma K A, Fouad Karim, Fenrich Keith K
Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute, Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, 3-88 Corbett Hall, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6E 2G4, Canada; Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, 3-88 Corbett Hall, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6E 2G4, Canada.
Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute, Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, 3-88 Corbett Hall, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6E 2G4, Canada.
Behav Brain Res. 2018 Jan 15;336:67-76. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2017.08.033. Epub 2017 Aug 25.
The single pellet reaching and grasping (SPG) task is widely used to study forelimb motor performance in rodents and to provide rehabilitation after neurological disorders. Nonetheless, the time necessary to train animals precludes its use in settings where high-intensity training is required. In the current study, we developed a novel high-intensity training protocol for the SPG task based on a motorized pellet dispenser and a dual-window enclosure. We tested the protocol in naive adult rats and found 1) an increase in the intensity of training without increasing the task time and without affecting the overall performance of the animals, 2) a reduction in the variability within and between experiments in comparison to manual SPG training, and 3) a reduction in the time required to conduct experiments. In summary, we developed and tested a novel protocol for SPG training that provides higher-intensity training while reducing the variability of results observed with other protocols.
单颗粒抓取（SPG）任务被广泛用于研究啮齿动物的前肢运动表现，并为神经功能障碍后的康复提供帮助。尽管如此，训练动物所需的时间使得它无法用于需要高强度训练的场景。在当前的研究中，我们基于电动颗粒分配器和双窗口围栏开发了一种用于SPG任务的新型高强度训练方案。我们在未经过训练的成年大鼠中测试了该方案，发现：1）在不增加任务时间且不影响动物整体表现的情况下，训练强度有所增加；2）与手动SPG训练相比，实验内部和实验之间的变异性降低；3）进行实验所需的时间减少。总之，我们开发并测试了一种用于SPG训练的新型方案，该方案在减少其他方案所观察到的结果变异性的同时提供了更高强度的训练。
