Impaired Limb Functional Outcome of Peripheral Nerve Regeneration Is Marked by Incomplete Recovery of Paw Muscle Atrophy and Brain Functional Connectivity in a Rat Forearm Nerve Repair Model

Skilled sensorimotor deficit is an unsolved problem of peripheral nerve injury (PNI) led by limb trauma or malignancies, despite the improvements in surgical techniques of peripheral nerve anastomosis. It is now accepted that successful functional recovery of PNI relies tremendously on the multileve...

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Main Authors: Qiyuan Bao, Qi Liu, Jun Wang, Yuhui Shen, Weibin Zhang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2021-01-01
Series:Neural Plasticity
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2021/6689476
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author Qiyuan Bao
Qi Liu
Jun Wang
Yuhui Shen
Weibin Zhang
author_facet Qiyuan Bao
Qi Liu
Jun Wang
Yuhui Shen
Weibin Zhang
author_sort Qiyuan Bao
collection DOAJ
description Skilled sensorimotor deficit is an unsolved problem of peripheral nerve injury (PNI) led by limb trauma or malignancies, despite the improvements in surgical techniques of peripheral nerve anastomosis. It is now accepted that successful functional recovery of PNI relies tremendously on the multilevel neural plasticity from the muscle to the brain. However, animal models that recapitulate these processes are still lacking. In this report, we developed a rat model of PNI to longitudinally assess peripheral muscle reinnervation and brain functional reorganization using noninvasive imaging technology. Based on such model, we compared the longitudinal changes of the rat forepaw intrinsic muscle volume and the seed-based functional connectivity of the sensorimotor cortex after nerve repair. We found that the improvement of skilled limb function and the recovery of paw intrinsic muscle following nerve regeneration are incomplete, which correlated with the functional connectivity between the primary motor cortex and dorsal striatum. Our results were highly relevant to the clinical observations and provided a framework for future investigations that aim to study the peripheral central sensorimotor circuitry underlying skilled limb function recovery after PNI.
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publishDate 2021-01-01
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spelling doaj-art-76c93d4cf45e4a66bc02f117660503cf2025-08-20T02:07:34ZengWileyNeural Plasticity2090-59041687-54432021-01-01202110.1155/2021/66894766689476Impaired Limb Functional Outcome of Peripheral Nerve Regeneration Is Marked by Incomplete Recovery of Paw Muscle Atrophy and Brain Functional Connectivity in a Rat Forearm Nerve Repair ModelQiyuan Bao0Qi Liu1Jun Wang2Yuhui Shen3Weibin Zhang4Department of Orthopaedics, Shanghai Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, ChinaDepartment of Orthopaedics, Shanghai Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, ChinaDepartment of Orthopaedics, Shanghai Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedics, Shanghai, ChinaDepartment of Orthopaedics, Shanghai Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, ChinaDepartment of Orthopaedics, Shanghai Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, ChinaSkilled sensorimotor deficit is an unsolved problem of peripheral nerve injury (PNI) led by limb trauma or malignancies, despite the improvements in surgical techniques of peripheral nerve anastomosis. It is now accepted that successful functional recovery of PNI relies tremendously on the multilevel neural plasticity from the muscle to the brain. However, animal models that recapitulate these processes are still lacking. In this report, we developed a rat model of PNI to longitudinally assess peripheral muscle reinnervation and brain functional reorganization using noninvasive imaging technology. Based on such model, we compared the longitudinal changes of the rat forepaw intrinsic muscle volume and the seed-based functional connectivity of the sensorimotor cortex after nerve repair. We found that the improvement of skilled limb function and the recovery of paw intrinsic muscle following nerve regeneration are incomplete, which correlated with the functional connectivity between the primary motor cortex and dorsal striatum. Our results were highly relevant to the clinical observations and provided a framework for future investigations that aim to study the peripheral central sensorimotor circuitry underlying skilled limb function recovery after PNI.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2021/6689476
spellingShingle Qiyuan Bao
Qi Liu
Jun Wang
Yuhui Shen
Weibin Zhang
Impaired Limb Functional Outcome of Peripheral Nerve Regeneration Is Marked by Incomplete Recovery of Paw Muscle Atrophy and Brain Functional Connectivity in a Rat Forearm Nerve Repair Model
Neural Plasticity
title Impaired Limb Functional Outcome of Peripheral Nerve Regeneration Is Marked by Incomplete Recovery of Paw Muscle Atrophy and Brain Functional Connectivity in a Rat Forearm Nerve Repair Model
title_full Impaired Limb Functional Outcome of Peripheral Nerve Regeneration Is Marked by Incomplete Recovery of Paw Muscle Atrophy and Brain Functional Connectivity in a Rat Forearm Nerve Repair Model
title_fullStr Impaired Limb Functional Outcome of Peripheral Nerve Regeneration Is Marked by Incomplete Recovery of Paw Muscle Atrophy and Brain Functional Connectivity in a Rat Forearm Nerve Repair Model
title_full_unstemmed Impaired Limb Functional Outcome of Peripheral Nerve Regeneration Is Marked by Incomplete Recovery of Paw Muscle Atrophy and Brain Functional Connectivity in a Rat Forearm Nerve Repair Model
title_short Impaired Limb Functional Outcome of Peripheral Nerve Regeneration Is Marked by Incomplete Recovery of Paw Muscle Atrophy and Brain Functional Connectivity in a Rat Forearm Nerve Repair Model
title_sort impaired limb functional outcome of peripheral nerve regeneration is marked by incomplete recovery of paw muscle atrophy and brain functional connectivity in a rat forearm nerve repair model
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2021/6689476
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