Task-dependent compensation after pyramidal tract and dorsolateral spinal lesions in rats.

The purpose of this research was to investigate whether pathways in the dorsal part of the lateral spinal funiculus (DLF) can compensate for loss of corticospinal input (CST) to the spinal cord. The CST is known to control skilled limb movements in rats. The DLF contains several different pathways, including the rubrospinal tract (RST) which is also thought to influence limb movements.

Effects of combined dorsolateral and dorsal funicular lesions on sensorimotor behaviour in rats.

The purpose of this research was to investigate the compensatory role of undamaged spinal pathways after partial spinal injury in rats. We have previously shown that bilateral lesions of the dorsal funiculus (DF) at the cervical level caused changes in overground and skilled locomotion that affected the forelimbs more than the hindlimbs. The same lesions also caused fore-paw deficits during a skilled pellet retrieval task (Kanagal and Muir, 2007).

The differential effects of cervical and thoracic dorsal funiculus lesions in rats.

The purpose of this research was to compare the locomotor abilities of rats with cervical dorsal spinal funicular (DF) lesions to those of rats with the same lesion at the mid-thoracic level. The dorsal funiculus, consisting of ascending sensory fibers and the main component of the corticospinal tract, was transected either at spinal level C2 or at T8. We examined limb force generation and limb timing and coordination during overground locomotion, as well as foot placement errors during locomotion over a horizontal ladder.

Bilateral dorsal funicular lesions alter sensorimotor behaviour in rats.

Spinal cord injury models often involve damage to the corticospinal tract (CST) because of the functional importance of this pathway in humans. In rats, the main component of the CST travels in the dorsal funiculus and cannot be damaged without concurrent damage to overlying sensory fibers. To distinguish deficits due to the loss of CST from those due to sensory fiber damage, we bilaterally axotomized ascending sensory fibers in dorsal columns without CST damage in one group of rats (ascending sensory pathways, ASP) and compared the results to a group with damage to ascending sensory fibers with CST damage (ASP+CST).

Dorsolateral cervical spinal injury differentially affects forelimb and hindlimb action in rats.

In experimental spinal injury studies, damage to the dorsal half of the spinal cord is common but the behavioural effects of damage to specific pathways in the dorsal cord have been less well investigated. We performed bilateral transection of the dorsolateral spinal funiculus (DLF) on 12 Long-Evans rats at the third cervical spinal segment. We quantified overground locomotion by measuring ground reaction forces, step timing and step distances as animals moved unrestrained.