Quantitative assessment of cortical somatosensory digit representations after median and ulnar nerve injury in rats.

Incomplete recovery of sensory function is common after peripheral nerve injury (PNI). Despite reinnervation following injury, disorganized cortical representations persist and may contribute to functional deficits. There is a dearth of literature characterizing cortical responses after PNI in rodent models. Here we develop a quantitative electrophysiological method for mapping forepaw digit responses in primary somatosensory cortex (S1) of rats. We tested the hypothesis that PNI in the forelimb would generate significant, long lasting sensory deficits, and corresponding disorganization in S1. Rats underwent a transection of the proximal segment of the median and ulnar nerves in the forelimb followed by tubular repair. 4-12 months after nerve injury, we tested mechanosensory withdrawal thresholds and mapped S1 responses to mechanical stimulation of the digits. PNI produces persistent elevation of mechanical withdrawal thresholds, consistent with an impairment in sensory function. Assessment of cortical neurophysiology reveals a substantial disorganization of S1 somatotopy. Additionally, we document degraded timing and digit specificity of cortical responses. This quantitative measurement of long-term changes in S1 digit representations after forelimb nerve injury in rodents provides a framework for further studies focused on the development of therapeutic strategies to restore cortical and sensory function.

Vagus nerve stimulation during rehabilitative training improves functional recovery after intracerebral hemorrhage.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) delivered during rehabilitative training enhances neuroplasticity and improves recovery in models of cortical ischemic stroke. However, VNS therapy has not been applied in a model of subcortical intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). We hypothesized that VNS paired with rehabilitative training after ICH would enhance recovery of forelimb motor function beyond rehabilitative training alone. METHODS: Rats were trained to perform an automated, quantitative measure of forelimb function. Once proficient, rats received an intrastriatal injection of bacterial collagenase to induce ICH. Rats then underwent VNS paired with rehabilitative training (VNS+Rehab; n=14) or rehabilitative training without VNS (Rehab; n=12). Rehabilitative training began ≥9 days after ICH and continued for 6 weeks. RESULTS: VNS paired with rehabilitative training significantly improved recovery of forelimb function when compared with rehabilitative training without VNS. The VNS+Rehab group displayed a 77% recovery of function, whereas the Rehab group only exhibited 29% recovery. Recovery was sustained after cessation of stimulation. Both groups performed similar amounts of trials during rehabilitative, and lesion size was not different between groups. CONCLUSIONS: VNS paired with rehabilitative training confers significantly improved forelimb recovery after ICH compared to rehabilitative training without VNS.

Decision-making dynamics are predicted by arousal and uninstructed movements.

During sensory-guided behavior, an animal's decision-making dynamics unfold through sequences of distinct performance states, even while stimulus-reward contingencies remain static. Little is known about the factors that underlie these changes in task performance. We hypothesize that these decision-making dynamics can be predicted by externally observable measures, such as uninstructed movements and changes in arousal. Here, using computational modeling of visual and auditory task performance data from mice, we uncovered lawful relationships between transitions in strategic task performance states and an animal's arousal and uninstructed movements. Using hidden Markov models applied to behavioral choices during sensory discrimination tasks, we find that animals fluctuate between minutes-long optimal, sub-optimal, and disengaged performance states. Optimal state epochs are predicted by intermediate levels, and reduced variability, of pupil diameter and movement. Our results demonstrate that externally observable uninstructed behaviors can predict optimal performance states and suggest that mice regulate their arousal during optimal performance.

Decision-making dynamics are predicted by arousal and uninstructed movements.

During sensory-guided behavior, an animal's decision-making dynamics unfold through sequences of distinct performance states, even while stimulus-reward contingencies remain static. Little is known about the factors that underlie these changes in task performance. We hypothesize that these decision-making dynamics can be predicted by externally observable measures, such as uninstructed movements and changes in arousal. Here, combining behavioral experiments in mice with computational modeling, we uncovered lawful relationships between transitions in strategic task performance states and an animal's arousal and uninstructed movements. Using hidden Markov models applied to behavioral choices during sensory discrimination tasks, we found that animals fluctuate between minutes-long optimal, sub-optimal and disengaged performance states. Optimal state epochs were predicted by intermediate levels, and reduced variability, of pupil diameter, along with reduced variability in face movements and locomotion. Our results demonstrate that externally observable uninstructed behaviors can predict optimal performance states, and suggest mice regulate their arousal during optimal performance.

Radial nerve injury causes long-lasting forelimb sensory impairment and motor dysfunction in rats.

INTRODUCTION: Peripheral nerve injury is a common cause of lifelong disability in the United States. Although the etiology varies, most traumatic nerve injuries occur in the upper limb and include damage to the radial nerve. In conjunction with the well-described effects of peripheral damage, nerve injuries are accompanied by changes in the central nervous system. A comprehensive understanding of the functional consequences of nerve injury is necessary to develop new therapeutic interventions. OBJECTIVES: We sought to characterize changes in sensory and motor function and central neurophysiology after radial nerve injury in rats. METHODS: To evaluate somatosensory function in the forelimb, we assessed mechanical withdrawal threshold, spontaneous forelimb use, and cold sensitivity in rats 10 and 16 weeks after radial nerve injury. To evaluate motor function, we assessed performance on a forelimb supination task for up to 16 weeks after nerve injury. Physiological changes in the motor and somatosensory cortex were assessed using intracortical microstimulation and multiunit recordings, respectively. RESULTS: Our results indicate that radial nerve injury causes long-lasting sensory and motor dysfunction. These behavioral deficits are accompanied by abnormal cortical activity in the somatosensory and motor cortex. CONCLUSION: Our results provide a novel characterization of functional deficits that are consistent with the clinical phenotype in patients with radial nerve injury and provide a framework for future studies to evaluate potential interventions.

Vagus nerve stimulation intensity influences motor cortex plasticity.

BACKGROUND: Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) paired with forelimb motor training enhances reorganization of movement representations in the motor cortex. Previous studies have shown an inverted-U relationship between VNS intensity and plasticity in other brain areas, such that moderate intensity VNS yields greater cortical plasticity than low or high intensity VNS. However, the relationship between VNS intensity and plasticity in the motor cortex is unknown. OBJECTIVE: In this study we sought to test the hypothesis that VNS intensity exhibits an inverted-U relationship with the degree of motor cortex plasticity in rats. METHODS: Rats were taught to perform a lever pressing task emphasizing use of the proximal forelimb musculature. Once proficient, rats underwent five additional days of behavioral training in which low intensity VNS (0.4 mA), moderate intensity VNS (0.8 mA), high intensity VNS (1.6 mA), or sham stimulation was paired with forelimb movement. 24 h after the completion of behavioral training, intracortical microstimulation (ICMS) was used to document movement representations in the motor cortex. RESULTS: VNS delivered at 0.8 mA caused a significant increase in motor cortex proximal forelimb representation compared to training alone. VNS delivered at 0.4 mA and 1.6 mA failed to cause a significant expansion of proximal forelimb representation. CONCLUSION: Moderate intensity 0.8 mA VNS optimally enhances motor cortex plasticity while low intensity 0.4 mA and high intensity 1.6 mA VNS fail to enhance plasticity. Plasticity in the motor cortex exhibits an inverted-U function of VNS intensity similar to previous findings in auditory cortex.

Norepinephrine and serotonin are required for vagus nerve stimulation directed cortical plasticity.

Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) paired with forelimb training drives robust, specific reorganization of movement representations in the motor cortex. This effect is hypothesized to be mediated by VNS-dependent engagement of neuromodulatory networks. VNS influences activity in the locus coeruleus (LC) and dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN), but the involvement of these neuromodulatory networks in VNS-directed plasticity is unknown. We tested the hypothesis that cortical norepinephrine and serotonin are required for VNS-dependent enhancement of motor cortex plasticity. Rats were trained on a lever pressing task emphasizing proximal forelimb use. Once proficient, all rats received a surgically implanted vagus nerve cuff and cortical injections of either immunotoxins to deplete serotonin or norepinephrine, or vehicle control. Following surgical recovery, rats received half second bursts of 0.8 mA or sham VNS after successful trials. After five days of pairing intracortical microstimulation (ICMS) was performed in the motor cortex contralateral to the trained limb. VNS paired with training more than doubled cortical representations of proximal forelimb movements. Depletion of either cortical norepinephrine or serotonin prevented this effect. The requirement of multiple neuromodulators is consistent with earlier studies showing that these neuromodulators regulate synaptic plasticity in a complimentary fashion.

Parametric characterization of neural activity in the locus coeruleus in response to vagus nerve stimulation.

Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) has emerged as a therapy to treat a wide range of neurological disorders, including epilepsy, depression, stroke, and tinnitus. Activation of neurons in the locus coeruleus (LC) is believed to mediate many of the effects of VNS in the central nervous system. Despite the importance of the LC, there is a dearth of direct evidence characterizing neural activity in response to VNS. A detailed understanding of the brain activity evoked by VNS across a range of stimulation parameters may guide selection of stimulation regimens for therapeutic use. In this study, we recorded neural activity in the LC and the mesencephalic trigeminal nucleus (Me5) in response to VNS over a broad range of current amplitudes, pulse frequencies, train durations, inter-train intervals, and pulse widths. Brief 0.5s trains of VNS drive rapid, phasic firing of LC neurons at 0.1mA. Higher current intensities and longer pulse widths drive greater increases in LC firing rate. Varying the pulse frequency substantially affects the timing, but not the total amount, of phasic LC activity. VNS drives pulse-locked neural activity in the Me5 at current levels above 1.2mA. These results provide insight into VNS-evoked phasic neural activity in multiple neural structures and may be useful in guiding the selection of VNS parameters to enhance clinical efficacy.

Reorganization of Motor Cortex by Vagus Nerve Stimulation Requires Cholinergic Innervation.

BACKGROUND: Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) paired with forelimb training drives robust, specific reorganization of movement representations in the motor cortex. The mechanisms that underlie VNS-dependent enhancement of map plasticity are largely unknown. The cholinergic nucleus basalis (NB) is a critical substrate in cortical plasticity, and several studies suggest that VNS activates cholinergic circuitry. OBJECTIVE: We examined whether the NB is required for VNS-dependent enhancement of map plasticity in the motor cortex. METHODS: Rats were trained to perform a lever pressing task and then received injections of the immunotoxin 192-IgG-saporin to selectively lesion cholinergic neurons of the NB. After lesion, rats underwent five days of motor training during which VNS was paired with successful trials. At the conclusion of behavioral training, intracortical microstimulation was used to document movement representations in motor cortex. RESULTS: VNS paired with forelimb training resulted in a substantial increase in the representation of proximal forelimb in rats with an intact NB compared to untrained controls. NB lesions prevent this VNS-dependent increase in proximal forelimb area and result in representations similar to untrained controls. Motor performance was similar between groups, suggesting that differences in forelimb function cannot account for the difference in proximal forelimb representation. CONCLUSIONS: Together, these findings indicate that the NB is required for VNS-dependent enhancement of plasticity in the motor cortex and may provide insight into the mechanisms that underlie the benefits of VNS therapy.

The timing and amount of vagus nerve stimulation during rehabilitative training affect poststroke recovery of forelimb strength.

Loss of upper arm strength after stroke is a leading cause of disability. Strategies that can enhance the benefits of rehabilitative training could improve motor function after stroke. Recent studies in a rat model of ischemic stroke have demonstrated that vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) paired with rehabilitative training substantially improves recovery of forelimb strength compared with extensive rehabilitative training without VNS. Here we report that the timing and amount of stimulation affect the degree of forelimb strength recovery. Similar amounts of Delayed VNS delivered 2 h after daily rehabilitative training sessions resulted in significantly less improvement compared with that on delivery of VNS that is paired with identical rehabilitative training. Significantly less recovery also occurred when several-fold more VNS was delivered during rehabilitative training. Both delayed and additional VNS confer moderately improved recovery compared with extensive rehabilitative training without VNS, but fail to enhance recovery to the same degree as VNS that is timed to occur with successful movements. These findings confirm that VNS paired with rehabilitative training holds promise for restoring forelimb strength poststroke and indicate that both the timing and the amount of VNS should be optimized to maximize therapeutic benefits.

Vagus nerve stimulation delivered during motor rehabilitation improves recovery in a rat model of stroke.

Neural plasticity is widely believed to support functional recovery following brain damage. Vagus nerve stimulation paired with different forelimb movements causes long-lasting map plasticity in rat primary motor cortex that is specific to the paired movement. We tested the hypothesis that repeatedly pairing vagus nerve stimulation with upper forelimb movements would improve recovery of motor function in a rat model of stroke. Rats were separated into 3 groups: vagus nerve stimulation during rehabilitation (rehab), vagus nerve stimulation after rehab, and rehab alone. Animals underwent 4 training stages: shaping (motor skill learning), prelesion training, postlesion training, and therapeutic training. Rats were given a unilateral ischemic lesion within motor cortex and implanted with a left vagus nerve cuff. Animals were allowed 1 week of recovery before postlesion baseline training. During the therapeutic training stage, rats received vagus nerve stimulation paired with each successful trial. All 17 trained rats demonstrated significant contralateral forelimb impairment when performing a bradykinesia assessment task. Forelimb function was recovered completely to prelesion levels when vagus nerve stimulation was delivered during rehab training. Alternatively, intensive rehab training alone (without stimulation) failed to restore function to prelesion levels. Delivering the same amount of stimulation after rehab training did not yield improvements compared with rehab alone. These results demonstrate that vagus nerve stimulation repeatedly paired with successful forelimb movements can improve recovery after motor cortex ischemia and may be a viable option for stroke rehabilitation.

The isometric pull task: a novel automated method for quantifying forelimb force generation in rats.

Reach-to-grasp tasks are commonly used to assess forelimb function in rodent models. While these tasks have been useful for investigating several facets of forelimb function, they are typically labor-intensive and do not directly quantify physiological parameters. Here we describe the isometric pull task, a novel method to measure forelimb strength and function in rats. Animals were trained to reach outside the cage, grasp a handle attached to a stationary force transducer, and pull with a predetermined amount of force to receive a food reward. This task provides quantitative data on operant forelimb force generation. Multiple parameters can be measured with a high degree of accuracy, including force, success rate, pull attempts, and latency to maximal force. The task is fully automated, allowing a single experimenter to test multiple animals simultaneously with usually more than 300 trials per day, providing more statistical power than most other forelimb motor tasks. We demonstrate that an ischemic lesion in primary motor cortex yields robust deficits in all forelimb function parameters measured with this method. The isometric pull task is a significant advance in operant conditioning systems designed to automate the measurement of multiple facets of forelimb function and assess deficits in rodent models of brain damage and motor dysfunction.

The bradykinesia assessment task: an automated method to measure forelimb speed in rodents.

Bradykinesia in upper extremities is associated with a wide variety of motor disorders; however, there are few tasks that assay forelimb movement speed in rodent models. This study describes the bradykinesia assessment task, a novel method to quantitatively measure forelimb speed in rats. Rats were trained to reach out through a narrow slot in the cage and rapidly press a lever twice within a predefined time window to receive a food reward. The task provides measurement of multiple parameters of forelimb function, including inter-press interval, number of presses per trial, and success rate. The bradykinesia assessment task represents a significant advancement in evaluating bradykinesia in rat models because it directly measures forelimb speed. The task is fully automated, so a single experimenter can test multiple animals simultaneously with typically in excess of 300 trials each per day, resulting in high statistical power. Several parameters of the task can be modified to adjust difficulty, which permits application to a broad spectrum of motor dysfunction models. Here we show that two distinct models of brain damage, ischemic lesions of primary motor cortex and hemorrhagic lesions of the dorsolateral striatum, cause impairment in all facets of performance measured by the task. The bradykinesia assessment task provides insight into bradykinesia and motor dysfunction in multiple disease models and may be useful in assessing therapies that aim to improve forelimb function following brain damage.