Animal model to investigate the role of the motor cortex during treadmill locomotion in rats

Abstract

The objective of the present workwas to develop an animal model to assess information on how the motor cortex encodes gait. Two Sprague-Dawley rats were chronically implanted with a 16 channel micro-wire array in the primary motor cortex (M1) and two intramuscular fine wire EMG electrodes (bipolar) in two hindlimb muscles. Over five days, intra-cortical signals (IC) and EMG data were recorded simultaneously with high-speed videography while the rat performed locomotion on a horizontal and inclined (15.) treadmill. Preliminary results prove the functionality of the model and the possibility to assess information on how the brain encodes gait.