Soblosky J S, Colgin L L, Chorney-Lane D, Davidson J F, Carey M E
Department of Neurosurgery, Louisiana State University Medical Center, New Orleans 70112, USA.
J Neurosci Methods. 1997 Dec 30;78(1-2):75-83. doi: 10.1016/s0165-0270(97)00131-3.
Hindlimb and forelimb deficits in rats caused by sensorimotor cortex lesions are frequently tested by using the narrow flat beam (hindlimb), the narrow pegged beam (hindlimb and forelimb) or the grid-walking (forelimb) tests. Although these are excellent tests, the narrow flat beam generates non-parametric data so that using more powerful parametric statistical analyses are prohibited. All these tests can be difficult to score if the rat is moving rapidly. Foot misplacements, especially on the grid-walking test, are indicative of an ongoing deficit, but have not been reliably and accurately described and quantified previously. In this paper we present an easy to construct and use horizontal ladder-beam with a camera system on rails which can be used to evaluate both hindlimb and forelimb deficits in a single test. By slow motion videotape playback we were able to quantify and demonstrate foot misplacements which go beyond the recovery period usually seen using more conventional measures (i.e. footslips and footfaults). This convenient system provides a rapid and reliable method for recording and evaluating rat performance on any type of beam and may be useful for measuring sensorimotor recovery following brain injury.
感觉运动皮层损伤导致的大鼠后肢和前肢功能缺陷通常通过使用窄平梁（后肢）、窄钉梁（后肢和前肢）或网格行走（前肢）测试来检测。尽管这些都是很好的测试，但窄平梁产生的是非参数数据，因此禁止使用更强大的参数统计分析。如果大鼠移动迅速，所有这些测试的评分都可能很困难。足部误置，尤其是在网格行走测试中，表明存在持续的功能缺陷，但此前尚未得到可靠和准确的描述与量化。在本文中，我们介绍了一种易于构建和使用的带有轨道上的摄像系统的水平梯形梁，它可用于在单一测试中评估后肢和前肢功能缺陷。通过慢动作录像回放，我们能够量化并证明足部误置情况，这种情况超出了通常使用更传统测量方法（即足部滑倒和足部失误）所观察到的恢复期。这个便捷的系统为记录和评估大鼠在任何类型梁上的表现提供了一种快速且可靠的方法，可能有助于测量脑损伤后的感觉运动恢复情况。
