title: Intermittent application of hypergravity by centrifugation attenuates disruption of rat gait induced by 2 weeks of simulated microgravity.
abstract: The effects of intermittent hypergravity on gait alterations and hindlimb muscle atrophy in rats induced by 2 weeks of simulated microgravity were investigated. Rats were submitted to hindlimb unloading for 2 weeks (unloading period), followed by 2 weeks of reloading (recovery period). During the unloading period, animals were subjected to the following treatments: (1) free in cages (Control); (2) continuous unloading (UL); (3) released from unloading for 1 hour per day (UL+1G); (4) hypergravity for 1h per day using a centrifuge for small animals (UL+2G). The relative weights of muscles to the whole body weight and kinematics properties of hindlimbs during gait were evaluated. UL rats walked with their hindlimbs overextended, and the oscillation of their limb motion had become narrowed and forward-shifted after the unloading period, and this persisted for at least 2 weeks after the termination of unloading. However, these locomotor alterations were attenuated in rats subjected to UL+2G centrifugation despite minor systematic changes in muscle recovery. These findings indicate hypergravity application could counteract the adverse effects of simulated or actual microgravity environments.
authors.affiliation: Department of Motor Function Analysis, Human Health Sciences, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, 53 Shogoin Kawahara-cho, Sakyo-ku, 606-8507, Kyoto, Japan. Electronic address: tajino.junichi.57z@st.kyoto-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Junichi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tajino
authors.affiliation: Department of Motor Function Analysis, Human Health Sciences, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, 53 Shogoin Kawahara-cho, Sakyo-ku, 606-8507, Kyoto, Japan. Electronic address: ito.akira.27n@st.kyoto-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.affiliation: Department of Motor Function Analysis, Human Health Sciences, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, 53 Shogoin Kawahara-cho, Sakyo-ku, 606-8507, Kyoto, Japan. Electronic address: nagai.momoko.36v@st.kyoto-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Momoko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nagai
authors.affiliation: Department of Motor Function Analysis, Human Health Sciences, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, 53 Shogoin Kawahara-cho, Sakyo-ku, 606-8507, Kyoto, Japan. Electronic address: zhang.xiangkai.48v@st.kyoto-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Xiangkai
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Motor Function Analysis, Human Health Sciences, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, 53 Shogoin Kawahara-cho, Sakyo-ku, 606-8507, Kyoto, Japan. Electronic address: yamaguchi.shouki.26n@st.kyoto-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Shoki
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yamaguchi
authors.affiliation: Department of Motor Function Analysis, Human Health Sciences, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, 53 Shogoin Kawahara-cho, Sakyo-ku, 606-8507, Kyoto, Japan. Electronic address: iijima.hirotaka.75s@st.kyoto-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Hirotaka
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Iijima
authors.affiliation: Department of Development and Rehabilitation of Motor Function, Human Health Sciences, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, 53 Shogoin Kawahara-cho, Sakyo-ku, 606-8507, Kyoto, Japan. Electronic address: aoyama.tomoki.4e@kyoto-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Tomoki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Aoyama
authors.affiliation: Department of Motor Function Analysis, Human Health Sciences, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, 53 Shogoin Kawahara-cho, Sakyo-ku, 606-8507, Kyoto, Japan. Electronic address: kuro@hs.med.kyoto-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kuroki
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D001835:Body Weight; D002498:Centrifugation; D005684:Gait; D006614:Hindlimb; D018471:Hypergravity; D008297:Male; D009133:Muscular Atrophy; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D020127:Recovery of Function; D013997:Time Factors; D014893:Weightlessness / Q000009:adverse effects*
keywords: Centrifugation; Hindlimb unloading; Locomotion; Rat; Sensorimotor adaptation