Objective
The purpose of this study was to find reliable behavioral measures for the evaluation of motor dysfunction in photothrombotic ischemia rat model. Method: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were trained for behavioral test including tray reaching task (TRT), single pellet reaching task (SPRT), and rotarod task (RRT) for more than 2 weeks. Photothrombotic ischemia was induced in a stereotactically held rats using Rose Bengal dye (20 mg/kg) and cold light. Rats were assigned to either control (n=10) or experimental ischemic group (n=10). Post-lesional behavioral tests were performed for 4 weeks after confirma-tion of lesion by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), followed by histological examination. Results: RRT showed no difference between control and experimental group. SPRT and TRT showed significant difference between control and experimental group (p＜0.05). SPRT could well demonstrate the recovery of motor dysfunction after over time. Conclusion: SPRT could be the most reliable test to measure not only motor dysfunction but also motor recovery in unilateral motor cortex lesion of photothrombotic ischemia rat model. (J Korean Acad Rehab Med 2006; 30: 135-141)
