Using the behavioral flexibility operant task to detect long-term deficits in rats following middle cerebral artery occlusion.

The objective of this study was to determine the sensitivity of certain behavioral tasks, up to seven weeks following occlusion of the middle cerebral artery (MCAo) in rats. A battery of behavioral tasks, including rotorod, cylinder, and limb-placement, was conducted weekly for seven weeks. Also, a behavioral flexibility operant task was introduced at the end of the study to measure cognitive deficits. All functional outcome measures showed significant differences between stroke and control groups, indicating that these tasks are sensitive enough to detect deficits in a long-term MCAo study in rats. This provides useful information for those trying to increase translatability in their own stroke research by providing long-term sensitive testing paradigms in a relevant stroke model. PMID: 30107224 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Behavioural Brain Research - Category: Neurology Authors: Tags: Behav Brain Res Source Type: research