Motor strategies used by rats spinalized at birth to maintain stance in response to imposed perturbations.

ABSTRACT: Some rats spinalized P1/P2 achieve autonomous weight-supported locomotion and quiet stance as adults. We used force platforms and robot-applied perturbations to test such spinalized rats (n = 6) that exhibited both weight-supporting locomotion and stance, and also normal rats (n = 8). Ground reaction forces in individual limbs and the animals' center of pressure were examined. In normal rats, both forelimbs and hindlimbs participated actively to control horizontal components of ground reaction forces. Rostral perturbations increased forelimb ground reaction forces and caudal perturbations increased hindlimb ground reaction forces. Operate rats carried 60% body weight on the forelimbs and had a more rostral center of pressure placement. The pattern in normal rats was to carry significantly

SUBMITTER: Giszter SF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2919298 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature