title: Expected for acquisition movement exercise is more effective for functional recovery than simple exercise in a rat model of hemiplegia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The use of novel rehabilitative approaches for effecting functional recovery following stroke is controversial. Effects of different but effective rehabilitative interventions in the hemiplegic patient are not clear. We studied the effects of different rehabilitative approaches on functional recovery in the rat photochecmical cerebral infarction model.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-four male Wistar rats aged 8 weeks were used. The cranial bone was exposed under deep anesthesia. Rose bengal (20 mg/kg) was injected intravenously, and the sensorimotor area of the cerebral cortex was irradiated transcranially for 20 min with a light beam of 533-nm wavelength. Animals were divided into 3 groups. In the simple-exercise group, treadmill exercise was performed for 20 min every day. In the expected for acquisition movement-training group, beam-walking exercise was done for 20 min daily. The control group was left to recover without additional intervention. Hindlimb function was evaluated with the beam-walking test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Following cerebral infarction, dysfunction of the contralateral extremities was observed. Functional recovery was observed earlier in the expected for acquisition training group than in the other groups. Although rats in the treadmill group recovered more quickly than controls, the beam-walking group had the shortest overall recovery time.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Exercise facilitated functional recovery in the rat hemiplegic model, and expected for acquisition exercise was more effective than simple exercise. These findings are considered to have important implications for the future development of clinical rehabilitation programs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation and Physical Medicine, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Kagoshima University, 8-35-1 Sakuragaoka, Kagoshima-shi, Kagoshima, 890-8544 Japan.
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ikeda
authors.forename: Akihiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ohwatashi
authors.forename: Katsuhiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Harada
authors.forename: Yurie
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kamikawa
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yoshida
keywords: Animal model; Functional recovery; Rehabilitation; Stroke