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PubMed2026

A single session of high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation does not modulate effects of knee two-point discrimination training or sensorimotor function in healthy adults: Double-blind randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Benefits of sensory-training interventions on sensorimotor outcomes are inconsistent, and it is unclear whether transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) can enhance proprioception, which is fundamental to neuromuscular control. Existing evidence is dominated by upper-limb studies, so transferability to the knee is unclear. This study investigated whether a single session of anodal high-definition (HD)-tDCS, alone or combined with brief two-point discrimination (TPD) training, enhances knee sensorimotor function and performance in healthy adults. METHODS: In a double-blind randomised-controlled trial, 57 healthy participants received (1) 20-min, 1 mA anodal HD-tDCS over the knee primary somatosensory (S1) map or sham stimulation, and (2) 15-min knee TPD training or no training. Knee somatosensory, sensorimotor, and functional performance measures were assessed pre- and immediately post-intervention. Three-way mixed-design ANOVAs, equivalence testing (smallest effect size of interest η2 = 0.02), Bayes factors, and linear mixed-effects models quantified effects. RESULTS: HD-tDCS, TPD training, and their sequential combination had no effect on any outcome measure (p ≥ 0.05; η2 ≤ 0.015). Confidence intervals spanned equivalence bounds, and equivalence testing results were non-significant (p ≥ 0.05). Bayes factors (<0.33) showed moderate evidence for the null (no effect). Mixed-effects modelling attributed ≤8% of total variance to intervention fixed effects, with the remainder captured by participant-level random effects. CONCLUSION: A single 20-minute session of 1 mA HD-tDCS, with or without brief TPD training, does not acutely modify knee somatosensory, sensorimotor, or functional performance in healthy adults. Existing evidence at the hand may not translate to the lower limb. Future work should investigate higher-dose, multi-session, task-concurrent, or network-targeted strategies in clinical populations.

Humans↗

PubMed1999

Assessment of sensorimotor functions after traumatic brain injury (TBI) in childhood - Methodological aspects.

Various basic qualitative and quantitative methods for the evaluation of sensorimotor functions after Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) are introduced and discussed. Methodological aspects are illustrated by a single case follow-up study of a child after severe TBI (age 11; 7-12;1 yrs; 6, 8 and 12 month post TBI) in comparison to an age-matched healthy control group (N=16). The evaluation consisted of neurological investigation, Barthel-Index, Terver Numeric Score for Functional Assessment, Rappaport Disability Rating Scale (modified version), a coordination-test for children (KTK), a pilot-tested Motor Function Score, quantitative evaluation of spatiotemporal gait parameters on a walkway and on a treadmill, and the kinematic assessment of hand motor functions. Quantitative movement analyses revealed two general types of motor disorder: Slowing of movements and compensatory motor strategies. Averaged z-scores showed deficits, which were pronounced in fine motor skills (hand movements: 1.86, gait: 1.3). During follow-up, a strong improvement rate during the first (-0.48 z-scores) and nearly no improvement rate (-0.03 z-scores) during the second time interval was seen. Clinical scores and developmental tests were not able to document the whole restitutional course, whereas motor tests with special emphasis on functional aspects and the quantitative movement assessment seemed to be suitable methods. We conclude that a sufficient evaluation of sensorimotor functions after TBI in childhood needs an increase in procedural uniformity on onehand and the combination of various qualitative and quantitative methods on the other hand. To connect both claims, further research is necessary.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2003

Coeruleotrigeminal suppression of nociceptive sensorimotor function during inflammation in the craniofacial region of the rat.

Descending action from the locus coeruleus (LC) on the trigeminal sensorimotor function was evaluated in a rat model of oral-facial inflammation. For the induction of oral-facial inflammation, mustard oil (20% solution in 20microl mineral oil) was injected into the region of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). One week before testing, rats received bilateral lesions of the LC using a cathodal current. The electromyogram (EMG) threshold, which is the threshold intensity for the onset of EMG activity of the masseter muscle evoked by pressure on the TMJ region, was used in the present study as an indicator of the trigeminal sensorimotor function. Following mustard oil injection, in the LC-lesioned rats, EMG thresholds significantly decreased at 30min, which lasted up to 240min. In contrast, EMG thresholds in the LC-intact rats returned to the level before injection after 180min. Systemic naloxone (1.3mg/kg, i.v.) produced a further decrease of EMG thresholds in both the LC-intact and LC-lesioned rats. Under the existence of naloxone, EMG thresholds in the LC-lesioned rats were significantly lower than those of the LC-intact rats. These results suggest that oral-facial inflammation activates the coeruleotrigeminal modulating system and that an action of this system is independent of the opioid depressive mechanism.

Animals↗

PubMed1982

Plasticity of neostriatal dopamine receptors after nigrostriatal injury: relationship to recovery of sensorimotor functions and behavioral supersensitivity.

Rats given unilateral injections of 6-OHDA along the course of the mesotelencephalic dopaminergic projection show impairments in contralateral sensorimotor functions from which they often recover. Such rats also display an enhanced sensitivity to DA receptor stimulants, e.g. apomorphine, as revealed by contralateral turning, and an increased binding of neuroleptic compounds (e.g. [3H]spiroperidol) to the denervated striatum. This research examines the relationship of these receptor changes to both behavioral supersensitivity and recovery of sensorimotor functions by quantifying the time course of each phenomenon after injury. The supersensitivity to apomorphine and the behavioral recovery developed with a similar time course after injury, being evident within 1.5-3 days and reaching nearly maximal levels by 2 weeks postoperatively. A significant increase in in vivo [3H]spiroperidol binding to the denervated striatum occurred by 4 days postoperatively, and the magnitude of this change increased linearly during the first postoperative month. In contrast, the in vitro binding of this ligand to membranes of the denervated striatum was not increased until 3 weeks after the lesion. The results suggest that a proliferation of DA receptors may contribute to the pharmacological supersensitivity and the recovery of function, and that these early receptor changes may be revealed with greater sensitivity using in vivo binding techniques.

Animals↗

PubMed2001

Effects of chronic, post-injury Cyclosporin A administration on motor and sensorimotor function following severe, experimental traumatic brain injury.

PURPOSE: Cyclosporin A (CsA) is widely used in clinical situations to attenuate graft rejection following organ and central nervous system transplantation. Previous studies demonstrated that CsA administration is neuroprotective in models of traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, no studies, to date, have evaluated the influence of post-injury CsA administration on behavioral recovery after TBI. METHODS: Rats (n = 33) were anesthetized and subjected to severe, lateral fluid percussion brain injury. Fifteen minutes thereafter, animals were randomized to receive the first of 28 daily injections of either CsA (10 mg/kg, ip) or saline. Sham-operated animals (n = 14) were anesthetized and surgically prepared without injury and treated daily either with CsA or saline. Motor and sensorimotor functions were assessed at one day before and two days after injury, and weekly thereafter up to 4 wks post-injury. Cognition was assessed at 1 and 4 wks post-injury using a Morris Water Maze test. RESULTS: Injured animals showed significant impairments in motor, sensorimotor and cognitive function over the 4-week post-injury period. Injured animals treated with CsA showed a significant improvement in motor function assessed using a composite neuroscore (at day 28) and in sensorimotor function assessed using a sticky paper test (at days 2, 14, and 28) (p < 0.05, when compared to vehicle treated, injured animals). No beneficial effects on cognitive function were observed following CSA administration. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that daily post-injury treatment with CsA improves certain aspects of motor and sensorimotor function following experimental TBI.

Animals↗

PubMed2026

The effect of combining visuo-vestibular exercises with manual therapy and exercise on sensorimotor function in chronic neck pain: A randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether adding visuo-vestibular exercises to standard manual therapy and exercise produces superior improvements in sensorimotor function, pain, balance, and functional disability in adults with chronic neck pain. METHODS: This prospective, randomized controlled trial enrolled 58 adults with chronic neck pain (≥3 months) allocated to a manual therapy and exercise group (MtE; n = 29) or MtE plus visuo-vestibular exercises (MtE-VVE; n = 29). Both groups completed 12 supervised sessions over six weeks with a daily home exercise programme. Outcomes were assessed at baseline, 6 weeks, and 12 weeks, and included pain intensity (Visual Analog Scale [VAS]), upper extremity reaction time, computerized posturography, the Neck Disability Index (NDI), and cervical muscle endurance. RESULTS: Fifty-four participants (27 per group) completed the study. Both groups improved significantly across all outcomes (p < 0.001). At 12-week follow-up, the MtE-VVE group demonstrated superior outcomes: activity-related pain was reduced by an additional 2.00 cm (95% CI: 0.75-3.25; p = 0.005), bilateral reaction time improved by 1.70 s (p = 0.001), eyes-open mediolateral sway decreased by 0.50 mm (p < 0.001), NDI score was 6.30 points lower (95% CI: 3.42-9.18; p < 0.001), and cervical flexion and extension endurance improved by 12.00 s and 27.70 s, respectively (p ≤ 0.020). CONCLUSION: Adding visuo-vestibular exercises to standard manual therapy and exercise produces clinically meaningful and sustained improvements in activity-related pain, sensorimotor function, postural control, and functional disability in adults with chronic neck pain, and may be recommended as an effective adjunctive intervention.

Humans↗

PubMed1991

Residual sensorimotor functions in a patient after right-sided hemispherectomy.

Sensorimotor functions were examined in a patient with left-sided infantile hemiparesis who underwent hemispherectomy (HS) on the right side at age 18 for intractable epilepsy. Pathological examination of the removed hemisphere showed a porencephalic cyst of the temporal lobe and of the frontoparietal operculum. On examination, the patient had hemianopia to the left and sensorimotor deficits only of the distal limbs contralateral to the HS. She walked with a barely perceptible limp. Axial and proximal movements were quasi normal, so that the patient could fully elevate both arms, flex and extend the forearm with nearly normal power and execute small, isolated precision movements of the arm around the shoulder joint. This astonishing proximal motor repertoire was mimicked on the somatosensory side where cutaneous sensation and kinesthesia were normal above the elbow and knee and contrasted the pronounced distal sensorimotor dysfunctions. Movement analysis by means of an optoelectronic two-camera position analysis system (Selspot II) showed normal flexion-extension synergies during gait, but abnormal synergic coupling between the shoulder and elbow joint during reaching and prehension. Distal movements were still possible but could only be performed as rigidly coupled movement synergies, such as closing and opening of the fist along with arm adduction/flexion or abduction/extension. She could engage these synergies for grasping and holding large objects. The performance of individual, fractionated finger movements was impossible. Involuntary mirror movements were elicited in both the affected and the normal arm, but with distinctly different phase relationships, indicating that different circuitries contribute to their generation. The case study reveals the existence of a bilaterally organized sensorimotor system that has the potential to provide quasi normal performance of the axial-proximal body parts on both sides. This raises the question why this potential cannot be better used in cases with only partial unilateral brain damage and persistent hemiplegia.

Arachnoid Cysts↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Aging and attenuated processing robustness. Evidence from cognitive and sensorimotor functioning.

BACKGROUND: Within-person, across-time variations in processes and performance are intrinsic to all aspects of human functioning. OBJECTIVE: This article starts with a brief taxonomy of intraindividual dynamics. There are adaptive as well as non-adaptive types of intraindividual variations that unfold with different degrees of reversibility on different time scales and involve either single, or systems of, functions. METHODS: Empirical findings regarding aging and a specific type of intraindividual variation, namely attenuated processing robustness, are then presented with respect to cognitive and sensorimotor functioning. RESULTS: In both domains of functioning, old adults exhibit less robust functioning with a greater amount of week-to-week, day-to-day, or trial-by-trial fluctuations in their cognitive, walking, and postural control performances. CONCLUSION: Currently, the causes for the attenuation of processing robustness in cognitive and sensorimotor functioning are not well understood. Neurocomputational models are useful tools for exploring the tripartite relationships between the aging of neural information-processing fidelity, and cognitive, and sensorimotor processes.

Aging↗

PubMed1981

Sensorimotor functioning and prelinguistic communication of severely and profoundly retarded individuals.

The prelinguistic, nonverbal communicative behavior of 40 institutionalized severely and profoundly retarded children and adolescents functioning at various stages of Piaget's sensorimotor period was examined. Five scales of the Uzgiris and Hunt (1975) sensorimotor assessment were used to determine general level of sensorimotor functioning. A standard set of communication elicitation tasks was employed to examine the gestures used to communicate in both imperative and declarative contexts. More competent sensorimotor performance was associated with higher frequency of more sophisticated and symbolic forms of gestural communication, and subjects generally used more complex gestures to communicate in the imperative than in the declarative tasks. Applicability of the results to the design of future language-intervention programs and their implications for general theory concerning the relations between language and cognition and between normal and atypical development were discussed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Interactions between cognitive and sensorimotor functions in the motor cortex: evidence from the preparatory motor sets anticipating a perturbation.

The many signs of cognitive processes in the activation pattern of the primary motor cortex or in corticospinal (CS) excitability gave rise to the idea that the motor cortex is a crucial node in the processing of cognitive information related to sensorimotor functions. Moreover, it became clear that the preparatory motor sets offer a privileged window to investigate the interaction between cognitive and sensorimotor function in the motor cortex. In the present review, we examine how the study of the preparatory motor sets anticipating a mechanical movement perturbation contributes to enlightening this question. Following the initial observation made by Hammond that some components of the stretch reflex can be modulated by a prior intention either to resist or to relax in response to a subsequent perturbation, first evidence of the phenomenon was obtained in behaving monkeys. Moreover, this study related this peripheral fact to the observed anticipatory activity of motor cortex neurons after a prior instruction telling the animal how to respond to the subsequent perturbation, which triggered the instructed movement. Indeed, this anticipatory activity was found to be different according to the instruction. In the 1980s, this work inspired a lot of studies in human beings that brought support to the idea of a cognitive tuning of the long latency stretch response (LLSR). Specifically, the MI component of the response was shown to be modulated by a prior intent to resist versus to let go when faced with the perturbation. Recently, new approaches have been developed to obtain evidence of a cognitive tuning of CS excitability, thanks to transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). TMS has been used both as a reliable tool for quantifying the CS excitability via the motor evoked potentials (MEPs), and to centrally perturb the organization of movement. Such central perturbations offer the unique opportunity to activate the descending motor tracts while shunting, for a short time period, the ascending tracts assisting the movement. Thus, CS excitability was measured before the movement was perturbed. These studies demonstrated the readiness of the CS tract to be involved in anticipatory compensatory responses to central movement perturbations induced by TMS in relation to the subject's cognitive attitudes. The question of the cerebral regions upstream of the motor cortex that could be responsible for this modulation in CS excitability remains largely open.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

A structural equation model relating impaired sensorimotor function, fear of falling and gait patterns in older people.

Many falls in older people occur while walking, however the mechanisms responsible for gait instability are poorly understood. Therefore, the aim of this study was to develop a plausible model describing the relationships between impaired sensorimotor function, fear of falling and gait patterns in older people. Temporo-spatial gait parameters and acceleration patterns of the head and pelvis were obtained from 100 community-dwelling older people aged between 75 and 93 years while walking on an irregular walkway. A theoretical model was developed to explain the relationships between these variables, assuming that head stability is a primary output of the postural control system when walking. This model was then tested using structural equation modeling, a statistical technique which enables the testing of a set of regression equations simultaneously. The structural equation model indicated that: (i) reduced step length has a significant direct and indirect association with reduced head stability; (ii) impaired sensorimotor function is significantly associated with reduced head stability, but this effect is largely indirect, mediated by reduced step length, and; (iii) fear of falling is significantly associated with reduced step length, but has little direct influence on head stability. These findings provide useful insights into the possible mechanisms underlying gait characteristics and risk of falling in older people. Particularly important is the indication that fear-related step length shortening may be maladaptive.

Accidental Falls↗

PubMed1981

Disorganization and reorganization of cognitive and sensorimotor functions in cerebral commissurotomy. Compensatory roles of the forebrain commissures and cerebral hemispheres in man.

Neuropsychological studies of 10 patients with complete cerebral commissurotomy and 2 with frontal commissurotomy showed differences in the nature and severity of pre-operative, initial and long-term post-operative deficits in verbal and nonverbal cognitive, memory, and sensorimotor functions. Neurosurgical findings before and after operation recorded various types of extra-callosal brain damage in all 12 patients, including 4 with gross structural lesions in the right hemisphere before surgery. Our findings revealed that differences in the nature and severity of pre-operative and post-operative deficits varied according to the nature and laterality of associated extra-callosal damage before as well as after operation. Following complete commissurotomy, all 4 patients with pre-operative structural lesions of the right hemisphere revealed a unique pattern of marked, selective impairment of nonverbal cognitive functions strikingly similar to the effects of right hemispherectomy for tumour in adults. The remaining 8 patients showed systematic patterns of greater impairment in verbal and nonverbal cognitive and contralateral sensorimotor functions, depending on the laterality of extra-callosal damage. The significantly higher pre-operative Wechsler Performance IQs of the 4 patients with structural lesions of the right hemisphere suggest that following earlier damage to the right hemisphere, the forebrain commissures contribute to a reorganization of interhemispheric relations to permit restitution of the diminished nonverbal cognitive functions resulting from damage to the right hemisphere. Thus, in addition to other possible roles in integrating the functions of the two hemispheres in the normal brain, the forebrain commissures can also serve as 'standby' or 'reserve' structures for reorganization of compensatory interhemispheric mechanisms following lateralized brain insults. Since some patients showed later postoperative improvement, the extent of ultimate competence and the 'cognitive costs' of commissurotomy can only be defined by continuing follow-up studies. Apart from their practical clinical implications, such studies may also contribute to elucidation of the principles underlying the organization, disorganization and reorganization of human brain functions.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

Effects of venlafaxine, buspirone, and placebo on colonic sensorimotor functions in healthy humans.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: We have shown that venlafaxine-XR, a serotonin (5-HT) and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, enhanced gastric accommodation, whereas buspirone, a 5-HT(1A) receptor agonist, reduced postprandial symptoms after a fully satiating meal. Our aim was to compare the effects of venlafaxine, buspirone, and placebo on colonic sensorimotor functions in healthy adults. METHODS: In this randomized, double-blind, parallel-group, placebo-controlled trial of 60 healthy adults, we assessed the effects of oral venlafaxine, 150 mg; buspirone, 20 mg; and placebo on colonic sensorimotor functions. RESULTS: Venlafaxine increased colonic compliance relative to placebo; thus it decreased the intracolonic balloon pressure at half-maximum volume (P = 0.001) and altered the overall shape of the compliance curve, beta (P = 0.01). Venlafaxine also decreased fasting colonic tone (P = 0.02) and the tonic response to a meal (P = 0.003) compared with placebo; no differences in high amplitude phasic contractile events were observed. Pressure thresholds for first sensation (P = 0.1) and gas (P = 0.07) were not statistically significant with venlafaxine. The increase in pain scores per unit pressure during phasic distentions were affected by treatment (P = 0.02), with smallest changes on venlafaxine and highest on placebo. Buspirone did not significantly alter colonic compliance, tone, or sensation relative to placebo. CONCLUSIONS: Venlafaxine alters colonic compliance and tone, and tends to reduce sensation during colonic distention in healthy humans. These data support the need for further clinical and physiologic studies of venlafaxine in colonic disorders affecting motor and possibly sensory functions.

Adult↗

PubMed1978

Sensorimotor functioning and communication in mute autistic children.

There were two purposes underlying this study: to describe the sensorimotor functioning of mute autistic children and to relate their sensorimotor performance to nonverbal communication. Twelve mute children, diagnosed autistic, ranging from 4 years 9 months to 12 years of age, were administered four scales of sensorimotor development from the Uzgiris and Hunt (1975) series: object permanence, gestural imitation, means for obtaining environmental events, and causality. Subjects performed most poorly on the imitation scale with 9 of 12 performing below Piaget's fifth sensorimotor stage. In contrast, performance was highest on the object permanence scale: No child scored below Stage V. Regarding the subjects' non-scales and Stage III on the imitation scale appeared to form minimal prerequisites for intentional communication in a variety of situations. Finally, none of the subjects, even those with relatively complete sensorimotor development, spontaneously used what Bates (1976) has called "protodeclarative" gestures to point out or show objects to adults. The absence of protodeclarative gestures may represent a qualitatively distinct pattern of prelinguistic development in certain autistic children.

Autistic Disorder↗

PubMed1990

Ionic channels, cholinergic mechanisms, and recovery of sensorimotor function after neocortical infarcts in rats.

Unilateral photochemical infarcts were produced in the hind limb sensorimotor neocortex of 243 rats by intravenous injection of the fluorescein derivative Rose Bengal and focal illumination of the intact skull surface. Facial contact stimuli governed the degree and recovery rate of contralateral tactile/proprioceptive forelimb placing reactions. Contralateral forelimb placing recovered, whereas hind limb placing was resistant to recovery. Infarcted rats displayed marked recovery of spontaneous limb usage (beam traversing). However, deficits in isolated tactile/proprioceptive hind limb placing reactions endured. Posttreatment with the class IV calcium antagonist flunarizine after neocortical infarction protected sensorimotor function in a dose-dependent manner. This protective effect may be due to the peculiar ionic channel blocking profile of flunarizine. Scopolamine hydrobromide reinstated contralateral placing errors in infarcted rats at a dosage that did not affect neurologically intact rats. The cognitive enhancer sabeluzole, a novel benzothiazol derivative, dose-dependently blocked the anticholinergic-induced deterioration of a sensorimotor deficit in rats.

Animals↗

PubMed1998

Improvements in quadriceps sensorimotor function and disability of patients with knee osteoarthritis following a clinically practicable exercise regime.

OBJECTIVE: Quadriceps sensorimotor dysfunction may be important in the pathogenesis of knee osteoarthritis (OA) and a determinant of disability. Exercise regimes can increase quadriceps strength, but whether this improves proprioception and reduces disability is uncertain. Moreover, research regimes involve protracted treatment which is clinically impracticable. METHODS: We compared quadriceps sensorimotor function and disability in 60 patients with knee OA, before and after an exercise regime, with a control group (n = 37) who did not exercise. RESULTS: Exercise improved quadriceps strength (mean change, 95% CI; 73 N, 26-19 N), voluntary activation (14%, 5-20%), knee joint position sense (0.6 degrees, 0.1-1.8 degrees), and reduced the Lequesne Index (3.5, 0.5-4) and aggregate time of four activities of daily living (8.4 s, 0.2-16.7 s). At 6 month follow-up, these improvements were maintained. The parameters of the control group were unchanged. CONCLUSIONS: These results substantiate the association between quadriceps sensorimotor dysfunction and disability, emphasizing the importance of quadriceps exercise in the management of knee OA. The regimen is relatively brief and clinically practicable, but could be adapted to make it more cost effective.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Absence of gaze direction effects on EEG measures of sensorimotor function.

OBJECTIVE: Gaze direction is known to modulate the activation patterns of sensorimotor areas as seen at the single cell level and in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). To determine whether such gaze direction effects can be observed in scalp-recorded electroencephalogram (EEG) measures of sensorimotor function we investigated somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) and steady state movement related cortical potentials (MRPs). METHODS: In two separate experiments, SEPs were elicited by electrical stimulation of the median nerve (experiment 1) and steady state MRPs were induced by 2 Hz tapping paced by an auditory cue (experiment 2), while subjects directed their gaze 15 degrees to the left or to the right. RESULTS: Gaze direction failed to produce any appreciable differences in the waveforms of the SEPs or MRPs. In particular, there was no effect on peak amplitude, peak latency and peak scalp topography measures of SEP and MRP components, or on spatial or temporal parameters of dipole models of the underlying cortical generators. Additional frequency domain analyses did not reveal reliable gaze-related changes in induced power at electrode sites overlying somatosensory and motor areas, or in coherence between pairs of parietal, central and frontal electrodes, across a broad range of frequencies. CONCLUSIONS: EEG measures of sensorimotor function, obtained in a non-visual motor task, are insensitive to modulatory effects of gaze direction in sensorimotor areas that are observable with fMRI.

Electric Stimulation↗

PubMed1998

Differential recovery of sensorimotor function in GM1 ganglioside-treated vs. spontaneously recovered MPTP-treated cats: partial striatal dopaminergic reinnervation vs. neurochemical compensation.

Administration of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) to cats results in a parkinsonian syndrome characterized by rigidity, akinesia, bradykinesia, decreased response to external sensory stimuli and depletion of nigrostriatal dopamine. Cats spontaneously recover gross sensorimotor functions despite little recovery of the dopaminergic innervation of the striatum. In contrast, GM1 ganglioside administration accelerates gross behavioral recovery and causes an increased dopaminergic innervation of the striatum. This study examined whether these two recovery conditions are characterized by different degrees of functional recovery. Cats were trained to perform a sensorimotor reaching task prior to MPTP exposure and were then re-tested on the task 6 weeks later after spontaneously recovering gross motor functioning or after 6 weeks of GM1 treatment. Gross motor recovery was similar in both groups. However, the spontaneously recovered cats had significant difficulty in performing the task while GM1-treated cats performed normally. GM1-treated cats also had significant increases in striatal [3H]mazindol binding compared to spontaneously recovered cats. These results suggest that while gross motor functions may improve to a similar extent with spontaneous and GM1-induced recovery from experimental parkinsonism, complex sensorimotor behavior recovers to different extents under the different recovery conditions. More complete behavioral recovery may depend upon at least a partial recovery of striatal dopaminergic terminals rather than neurochemical compensation.

1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine↗