TY - JOUR
T1 - A method for unit recording in the lumbar spinal cord during locomotion of the conscious adult rat
AU - Berg, Rune W
AU - Chen, Ming-Teh
AU - Huang, Hsueh-Chen
AU - Hsiao, Min-Chi
AU - Cheng, Henrich
N1 - Keywords: Action Potentials; Animals; Electrodes, Implanted; Electromyography; Female; Locomotion; Monitoring, Ambulatory; Motor Neurons; Muscle Contraction; Muscle, Skeletal; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley
PY - 2009
Y1 - 2009
N2 - Extracellular recordings from single units in the brain, for example the neocortex, have proven feasible in moving, awake rats, but have not yet been possible in the spinal cord. Single-unit activity during locomotor-like activity in reduced preparations from adult cats and rats have provided valuable insights for the development of hypotheses about the organization of functional networks in the spinal cord. However, since reduced preparations could result in spurious conclusions, it is crucial to test these hypotheses in animals that are awake and behaving. Furthermore, unresolved issues such as how muscle force precision is achieved by motoneurons as well as how spinal neurons are spatio-temporally correlated are better to investigate in the conscious and behaving animal. We have therefore developed procedures to implant arrays of extracellular recording electrodes in the lumbar spinal cord of the adult rat for long-term studies. In addition, we implanted pairs of electromyographic electrodes in the hindlimbs for the purpose of monitoring locomotion. With our technique, we obtained stable long-term recordings of spinal units, even during locomotion. We suggest this as a novel method for investigating motor pattern-generating circuitry in the spinal cord.
AB - Extracellular recordings from single units in the brain, for example the neocortex, have proven feasible in moving, awake rats, but have not yet been possible in the spinal cord. Single-unit activity during locomotor-like activity in reduced preparations from adult cats and rats have provided valuable insights for the development of hypotheses about the organization of functional networks in the spinal cord. However, since reduced preparations could result in spurious conclusions, it is crucial to test these hypotheses in animals that are awake and behaving. Furthermore, unresolved issues such as how muscle force precision is achieved by motoneurons as well as how spinal neurons are spatio-temporally correlated are better to investigate in the conscious and behaving animal. We have therefore developed procedures to implant arrays of extracellular recording electrodes in the lumbar spinal cord of the adult rat for long-term studies. In addition, we implanted pairs of electromyographic electrodes in the hindlimbs for the purpose of monitoring locomotion. With our technique, we obtained stable long-term recordings of spinal units, even during locomotion. We suggest this as a novel method for investigating motor pattern-generating circuitry in the spinal cord.
U2 - 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2009.05.023
DO - 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2009.05.023
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 19505501
SN - 0165-0270
VL - 182
SP - 49
EP - 54
JO - Journal of Neuroscience Methods
JF - Journal of Neuroscience Methods
IS - 1
ER -