Similar hand shaping in reaching-for-food (skilled reaching) in rats and humans provides evidence of homology in release, collection, and manipulation movements

Sacrey, Lori‐Ann R.; Alaverdashvili, Mariam; Whishaw, Ian Q.

doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2009.05.035

Cited by 124 publications

(94 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…In this task, animals use their forepaw to reach through a small opening for a sugar pellet positioned on a shelf or pedestal. Even though the dexterity of rodents is limited when compared with primates (Lemon 2008), rodent skilled grasping shows strong similarities to human skilled reaching behavior (Whishaw et al 1992;Sacrey et al 2009;Klein et al 2012a). Skilled grasping protocols require several days of training to reach plateau performance , and were shown to be accompanied by motor cortex plasticity-including increased spine turnover and dendritic branching (Greenough et al 1985;Fu et al 2012), long-term potentiation (LTP) (Rioult-Pedotti et al 1998, 2000Zemmar et al 2014), and major shifts in cortical motor maps (Kleim et al 1998(Kleim et al , 2004.…”

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confidence: 99%

Motivational state, reward value, and Pavlovian cues differentially affect skilled forelimb grasping in rats

2016

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Motor skills represent high-precision movements performed at optimal speed and accuracy. Such motor skills are learned with practice over time. Besides practice, effects of motivation have also been shown to influence speed and accuracy of movements, suggesting that fast movements are performed to maximize gained reward over time as noted in previous studies. In rodents, skilled motor performance has been successfully modeled with the skilled grasping task, in which animals use their forepaw to grasp for sugar pellet rewards through a narrow window. Using sugar pellets, the skilled grasping task is inherently tied to motivation processes. In the present study, we performed three experiments modulating animals' motivation during skilled grasping by changing the motivational state, presenting different reward value ratios, and displaying Pavlovian stimuli. We found in all three studies that motivation affected the speed of skilled grasping movements, with the strongest effects seen due to motivational state and reward value. Furthermore, accuracy of the movement, measured in success rate, showed a strong dependence on motivational state as well. Pavlovian cues had only minor effects on skilled grasping, but results indicate an inverse Pavlovian-instrumental transfer effect on movement speed. These findings have broad implications considering the increasing use of skilled grasping in studies of motor system structure, function, and recovery after injuries.

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Motivational state, reward value, and Pavlovian cues differentially affect skilled forelimb grasping in rats

2016

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“…Skilled reaching as a task is common to both humans and rodents although differences in the individual components of the movement do exist [14][15][16].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Despite these differences between the species, it is thought that the neural pathways employed are comparable [14][15][16].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A brief search of PubMed using the terms stroke, rodent, staircase, and skilled reaching yields more than 500 results. Skilled reaching is considered to be a relevant test for studying pre-and post-injury fi ne motor skills because although there are differences between the species, the behavior in rats and humans uses similar movements and strategies for success [14][15][16].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Comparing Staircase and Skilled Forelimb Reaching Tests After Endothelin-1-Induced Stroke

Jager¹,

Canda²,

Gilbertson³

et al. 2017

J Neurol Neurol Sci Disord

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Background: Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide, but there are limited treatment options available despite extensive animal studies. A possible contributing factor for this discrepancy involves limitations of behavioral testing outcomes to assess therapeutic interventions. There are few comparisons to aid the researcher in choosing the most appropriate test. To address this issue, we compared the ability of two of the most commonly used fi ne-motor skills tests, the Montoya staircase and skilled forelimb reaching tests, to detect endothelin-1-induced ischemic strokes in the rat.Methods: Rats were trained for 2 weeks followed by 2 weeks of testing to establish baseline behavior. Rats then received intracerebral injections of increasing volumes of endothelin-1 to induce ischemia. 7 days post-injury, rats were re-tested. Stroke volume was estimated on brain sections.Results: 8 uL of endothelin-1 produced larger strokes than 2 or 4 uL injections. The skilled forelimb reaching test was able to detect post-stroke defi cits in 4 and 8 uL rats while the staircase test only detected defi cits in the 8 uL rats. Conclusion:The skilled forelimb reaching test may be more appropriate for researchers studying the effects of smaller strokes.

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“…Studies have demonstrated that hand shaping movements of release, collection, and manipulation in skilled reaching are similar between rats, monkeys, and humans. 3 Although rodents lack some of the cortical specializations that subserve the high level of manual dexterity and visuomotor coordination in humans, they share the basic mammalian neuronal architecture for motor control, including a descending motor pathway from cortex to brainstem and spinal cord, and feedback pathways through the basal ganglia and thalamus (i.e. cortico-striatal-thalamo-cortical loops).…”

Section: A Translational Paradigm For Studying Motor Skill Learning Imentioning

confidence: 99%

Translational studies exploring neuroplasticity associated with motor skill learning and the regulatory role of the dopamine system

Heijtz

Forssberg

2015

Develop Med Child Neuro

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ABBREVIATIONSDARPP-32 Dopamine-and cAMP-regulated phosphoprotein of 32kDa M1Primary motor cortexCerebral palsy (CP) is a heterogeneous group of neurodevelopmental disorders associated with lifelong motor impairment and disability. Current intervention programmes aim to capitalize on the neuroplasticity of the undamaged part of the brain to improve motor functions, by engaging individuals in active motor learning and training. In this review, we highlight recent animal studies (1) exploring cellular and molecular mechanisms contributing to neuroplasticity during motor training, (2) assessing the functional role of the mesocortical dopaminergic system in motor skill learning, and (3) exploring the impact of naturally occurring genetic variation in dopamine-related gene expression on the acquisition and performance of fine motor skills. Finally, the potential influence of the dopamine system on the outcome of motor learning interventions in cerebral palsy is discussed.Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders caused by injuries to the immature brain, which often interrupt a neural network that includes frontal and parietal cortical areas, the striatum and cerebellum, and descending pathways from the motor cortex. This bilateral sensorimotor network is involved in advanced motor functions, such as motor planning, motor learning, and fine motor skills. Consequently, the injuries result in poorly coordinated movements that lack the precise spatial and temporal muscle activity pattern typical of smooth and well-coordinated movements. In recent decades, CP treatment strategies have shifted. Previously, the imagined goal was to cure CP and fix the injured brain. Nowadays, a more realistic focus is on the undamaged part of the brain, namely maximizing the capacity of the undamaged brain to improve motor functions. Motor learning and motor training have therefore become important components of CP treatment. The rationale for this new trend is supported by a recent systematic review of CP interventions, 1 which finds that only those treatments that engage individuals in active training improve motor function. Further support for using motor learning comes from research in basic neuroscience demonstrating that the brain is plastic and can reorganize itself depending on the activity. A general principle seems to be that synaptic connectivity is strengthened in neural networks that are used, whereas it is weakened in unused networks. Motor learning is a specific form of neuroplasticity in which complex motor skills, such as writing or playing a musical instrument, are acquired through repetitive practice. The skills are learned gradually during repeated training sessions until performance improvement reaches nearly asymptotic levels: that is, improvement is faster at the beginning and slower towards the end. Various tasks have been used to study motor skill learning in humans, including juggling, visuomotor tracking, and various tapping sequences. Advances in neuroimaging technologies have allowed the identification...

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Similar hand shaping in reaching-for-food (skilled reaching) in rats and humans provides evidence of homology in release, collection, and manipulation movements

Cited by 124 publications

References 52 publications

Motivational state, reward value, and Pavlovian cues differentially affect skilled forelimb grasping in rats

Motivational state, reward value, and Pavlovian cues differentially affect skilled forelimb grasping in rats

Comparing Staircase and Skilled Forelimb Reaching Tests After Endothelin-1-Induced Stroke

Translational studies exploring neuroplasticity associated with motor skill learning and the regulatory role of the dopamine system

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