title: Motor neurons essential for normal sciatic function in neonatally nerve-injured rats.
abstract: The present study was aimed to determine neuronal population essential for normal motor function in young adult rats receiving various degrees of crushing to the sciatic nerve at the neonatal stage. Motor function was estimated by the static sciatic index, and a neuronal tracer was applied to the common peroneal nerve. The total numbers of the tracer-labeled neurons of the nerve-crushed rats were 74-383 in the normal function group, 14-61 in the disordered function group, and 0-32 in the severely disordered function group. We conclude that normal motor function can be well preserved by a very small population of motor neurons (approximately 15% of the control value) in the neonatally sciatic nerve-injured rats.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Shinshu University School of Medicine, Matsumoto, Nagano, Japan.
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kakegawa
authors.forename: Kumiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yokouchi
authors.forename: Nanae
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Fukushima
authors.forename: Tetsuhiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fukuyama
authors.forename: Tetsuji
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Moriizumi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D019921:Biotinylation; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D009409:Nerve Crush; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012584:Sciatic Nerve / Q000293:injuries* / Q000502:physiology*