Distinct dynamics of social motivation drive differential social behavior in laboratory rat and mouse strains.

Mice and rats are widely used to explore mechanisms of mammalian social behavior in health and disease, raising the question whether they actually differ in their social behavior. Here we address this question by directly comparing social investigation behavior between two mouse and rat strains used most frequently for behavioral studies and as models of neuropathological conditions: C57BL/6 J mice and Sprague Dawley (SD) rats. Employing novel experimental systems for behavioral analysis of both subjects and stimuli during the social preference test, we reveal marked differences in behavioral dynamics between the strains, suggesting stronger and faster induction of social motivation in SD rats.

Epidemiology of non-traumatic spinal cord injury in Uganda: a single center, prospective study with MRI evaluation.

Background: A few reliable national data concerning the etiology of non-traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) in sub-Sahara Africa exists, mainly because of the limitations of diagnostic imaging. These are both expensive and mostly unavailable in several resource-limited settings. Only a few studies have employed the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in documenting non-traumatic SCI and most of these studies are from South Africa.