Regional distribution of sodium-dependent excitatory amino acid transporters in rat spinal cord.

Background/objective: The excitatory amino acid transporters (EAATs), or sodium-dependent glutamate transporters, provide the primary mechanism for glutamate removal from the synaptic cleft. EAAT distribution has been determined in the rat brain, but it is only partially characterized in the spinal cord.

Methods: The regional anatomic distribution of EAATs in spinal cord was assessed by radioligand autoradiography throughout cervical, thoracic, and lumbar cord levels in female Sprague-Dawley rats.

Comparison of surface electromyography and myotonometric measurements during voluntary isometric contractions.

Objectives: Muscle stiffness increases during muscle contraction. The purpose of this study was to determine the strength of the correlation between myotonometric measurements of muscle stiffness and surface electromyography (sEMG) measurements during various levels of voluntary isometric contractions of the biceps brachii muscle.

Subjects: Eight subjects (four female; four male), with mean age of 30.