Tongue protrusion: a simple test for neurological recovery in rats following focal cerebral ischemia.
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.
Gulyaeva
Natalia
N
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.
Thompson
Charlie
C
Shinohara
Nobuaki
N
Lazareva
Natalia
N
Onufriev
Mikhail
M
Stepanichev
Mikhail
M
Moiseeva
Yulia
Y
Fliss
Henry
H
Hakim
Antoine M
AM
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