title: Tongue protrusion: a simple test for neurological recovery in rats following focal cerebral ischemia.
abstract: A simple tongue protrusion (TP) test is described for rats following focal ischemia induced by middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). MCAO resulted in a dramatic decrease in TP that correlated with a concomitant decline in neurological performance in standard 5- and 20-point tests and deficits in performance in the Morris water maze and the accelerating rotarod. TP values also correlated with infarct size at 7 and 24 days following MCAO. This simple and inexpensive test, that monitors the ability of rats to lick food out of a glass tube, is easily administered, can be administered frequently without changing baseline performance, is not susceptible to behavioral compensation and should not interfere with other tests used concurrently to evaluate neurological deficit. The TP test may, therefore, serve as a useful addition to the battery of tests commonly used to assess neurological damage in rats, particularly in models of stroke.
authors.affiliation: Department of Functional Biochemistry of the Nervous System, Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 5a Butlerov St., 117865, Moscow, Russia.
authors.forename: Natalia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Gulyaeva
authors.forename: Charlie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.forename: Nobuaki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shinohara
authors.forename: Natalia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Lazareva
authors.forename: Mikhail
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Onufriev
authors.forename: Mikhail
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stepanichev
authors.forename: Yulia
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Moiseeva
authors.forename: Henry
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fliss
authors.forename: Antoine M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Hakim
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D020244:Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning; D009460:Neurologic Examination; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D020127:Recovery of Function / Q000502:physiology*; D013045:Species Specificity; D013997:Time Factors; D014059:Tongue