Assessment of behavior in animal models of spinal cord injury.
There has been a significant increase in the amount of research directed at understanding pathologic and behavioral consequences of spinal cord injury (SCI), and attempts to promote recovery of function. Several different approaches can be used to induce SCI; each has particular strengths and weaknesses. Ultimately, behavior is an extremely relevant outcome measure for determining the functional consequences of the initial injury, spontaneous recovery of function, and the efficacy of therapeutic interventions that are developed. Behavioral assessment can encompass a wide range of tests, and the appropriateness of each measure must be considered in determining the merit of each study. This review provides a brief overview and discussion of techniques used to induce SCI and assess behavior. The appropriate use and interpretation of these methods is critical for proper study design, interpretation of experimental results, and extrapolation to clinical relevance.
Institute for Brain Aging and Dementia, Department of Neurology, University of California at Irvine, Irvine, California 92697-4540, USA. JPKessla@uci.edu
J Patrick
JP
Kesslak
Hans S
HS
Keirstead
D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006801:Humans; D007537:Isometric Contraction / Q000502:physiology; D051379:Mice; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology; D009048:Motor Skills / Q000502:physiology; D009416:Nerve Regeneration / Q000502:physiology; D017288:Pain Threshold / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*