title: Effect of a contralateral lesion on neurological recovery from stroke in rats.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Clinical studies suggest a correlation between changes in activity of the contralesional cerebral cortex and spontaneous recovery from stroke, but whether this is a causal relationship is uncertain.
  
  
  METHODS
  Young adult Sprague-Dawley male rats underwent unilateral or bilateral permanent distal middle cerebral artery occlusion (dMCAO). Infarct volume was determined by 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining 24 hr after dMCAO, and functional outcome was assessed 1-28 days after dMCAO using the ladder rung walking and limb placing tests.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Infarct volume was unchanged, but functional neurological deficits were reduced 1 day after bilateral compared to unilateral dMCAO.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Activity in the contralesional cerebral cortex may inhibit functional motor recovery after experimental stroke.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Neuroscience, University of North Texas, TX 76107, USA.
authors.forename: Fen
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.forename: XiaoOu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Mao
authors.forename: Justin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hill
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Greenberg
authors.forename: Kunlin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Jin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology; D002544:Cerebral Infarction / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004525:Efferent Pathways / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology*; D020244:Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D020127:Recovery of Function / Q000502:physiology*