Methods for functional assessment after C7 spinal cord hemisection in the rhesus monkey

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Primate Models
• Rehabilitation Science

Background:

• Reliable outcome measures are critical for preclinical spinal cord injury (SCI) modeling in primates.
• Behavioral assessments must detect both functional improvements and deficits to evaluate therapeutic effects accurately.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate behavioral tests for assessing functional recovery after SCI in nonhuman primates.
• To establish sensitive assays capable of detecting a wide range of motor function changes.

Main Methods:

• 24 male rhesus macaques underwent C7 lateral hemisection.
• Behavioral scoring in open field and hand tasks (restraining chair).
• Electromyography (EMG) analysis during open field, hand tasks, and treadmill locomotion.

Main Results:

• Developed behavioral assays demonstrated sensitivity in detecting diverse motor functional outcomes post-cervical hemisection.
• Population recovery curves showed consistency across tasks, with forelimb function typically recovering to approximately 50% of baseline.
• Assays successfully differentiated outcomes in both control and treated groups, indicating their utility in detecting therapeutic effects.

Conclusions:

• The validated behavioral outcome measures effectively assess a broad spectrum of motor recovery in a nonhuman primate SCI model.
• These behavioral assays are essential for preclinical models evaluating the efficacy of translational therapies for spinal cord injury.