Seminar - Locomotor Recovery After Body Weight Supported Treadmill Training (BWSTT) in Contused Rats
Date: November 6, 2009
Time: 4:00 PM
Location: Matheson Hall, Room: 109
Speaker(s):
Anita Singh, Ph.D.
Co-Director, Behavior and Biomechanics Lab at the Spinal Cord Injury Research Center
Drexel University College of Medicine
Philadelphia, PA
Details:
Principles of locomotor recovery after BWSTT were developed from spinalized animals but it is unclear whether similar recovery mechanisms exist in incomplete SCI subjects. 32 female Sprague-Dawley rats received a moderate contusion injury at the T9/10 level. One week post injury, Group I (n=16) began bipedal robotic BWSTT for 500 steps/day, 5 days/wk for 8 wks. Untrained animals (n=16) were suspended from the BWS (100%) system for the same duration. Bi-weekly kinematic and BBB tests were performed and H-reflex was tested at wk 8. Significant improvement in stepping ability was observed in BWSTT rats with stepping at higher speeds and lower BWS compared to untrained rats. BBB scores (~9) between the groups did not differ. H-reflex testing showed frequency dependent depression in all trained and some untrained rats. To study the role of descending pathways in restoring function during BWSTT, in a second set of animals the T7 spinal cord was transected 9 weeks post contusion. Stepping abilities were retained in BWSTT rats 2 wks later, but at slower speeds and higher BWS. Most untrained rats failed to step at any speed or level of BWS. H-reflex data indicated frequency dependent depression only in the BWSTT rats. These results suggest that locomotor recovery after BWSTT in contused rats is attributable to both the spinal circuitry, as indicated by the ability of trained animals to perform stepping after transection, and the spared descending pathways, as evident by reduction in the locomotor performance after transection.
WATCH WEBCAST
Biosketch:
Anita Singh, PhD is the Co-Director of the Behavior and Biomechanics lab at the Spinal Cord Injury Research Center, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA. She earned her PhD from Wayne State University, Detroit in Biomedical Engineering. Dr. Singh completed her postdoctoral fellowship at the Lankenau Hospital, Philadelphia and is currently a Research Associate at Drexel University. Her research has focused on developing a new model of traumatic axonal injury that offers the possibilities of improving the understanding of white matter tract damage in the brain during a traumatic event. Currently, she is involved in developing a new robotic training paradigm in spinally contused and transected rats. This translational research involving robotic training algorithms hold great promises for spinal cord injured patients.
Directions:
Matheson Hall is located at 32nd and Market Streets.
|
