title: Long-term dynamics of somatosensory activity in a stroke model of distal middle cerebral artery oclussion.
abstract: A constant challenge in experimental stroke is the use of appropriate tests to identify signs of recovery and adverse effects linked to a particular therapy. In this study, we used a long-term longitudinal approach to examine the functional brain changes associated with cortical infarction in a mouse model induced by permanent ligation of the middle cerebral artery (MCA). Sensorimotor function and somatosensory cortical activity were evaluated with fault-foot and forelimb asymmetry tests in combination with somatosensory evoked potentials. The stroke mice exhibited both long-term deficits in the functional tests and impaired responses in the infarcted and intact hemispheres after contralateral and ipsilateral forepaw stimulation. In the infarcted hemisphere, reductions in the amplitudes of evoked responses were detected after contralateral and ipsilateral stimulation. In the intact hemisphere, and similar to cortical stroke patients, a gradual hyperexcitability was observed after contralateral stimulation but no parallel evidence of a response was detected after ipsilateral stimulation. Our results suggest the existence of profound and persistent changes in the somatosensory cortex in this specific mouse cortical stroke model. The study of evoked potentials constitutes a feasible and excellent tool for evaluating the fitness of the somatosensory cortex in relation to functional recovery after preclinical therapeutic intervention.
authors.affiliation: Unit of Cellular and Animal models, Experimental Neurology Laboratory, Center for Biomedical Technology, Universidad Politécnica, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Juan A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Barios
authors.affiliation: Unit of Cellular and Animal models, Experimental Neurology Laboratory, Center for Biomedical Technology, Universidad Politécnica, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Liudmila
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pisarchyk
authors.affiliation: Unit of Cellular and Animal models, Experimental Neurology Laboratory, Center for Biomedical Technology, Universidad Politécnica, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fernandez-Garcia
authors.affiliation: Unit of Experimental Neurology, Hospital Universitario Ramón y Cajal-IRYCIS, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Luis C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Barrio
authors.affiliation: Unit of Cellular and Animal models, Experimental Neurology Laboratory, Center for Biomedical Technology, Universidad Politécnica, Madrid, Spain Biomedical Research Networking Center in Bioengineering Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN), Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Milagros
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ramos
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Neurobiology, Instituto Cajal (CSIC), Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Martinez-Murillo
authors.affiliation: Unit of Cellular and Animal models, Experimental Neurology Laboratory, Center for Biomedical Technology, Universidad Politécnica, Madrid, Spain Biomedical Research Networking Center in Bioengineering Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN), Madrid, Spain daniel.gonzalez@ctb.upm.es.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gonzalez-Nieto
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000098:blood supply / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005073:Evoked Potentials, Somatosensory; D020244:Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D020768:Middle Cerebral Artery / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013003:Somatosensory Cortex / Q000098:blood supply / Q000503:physiopathology*
keywords: Behavior; somatosensory evoked potentials; stroke neuroprotection and repair