Intraventricular norepinephrine facilitates motor recovery following sensorimotor cortex injury

Intraventricular norepinephrine, dopamine, or vehicle was administered to rats 24 hours after a unilateral sensorimotor cortex ablation to determine their potential roles in acceleration of motor recovery as measured by the beam-walking task. Norepinephrine was found to be the critical neurotransmitter in facilitating motor recovery. Blocking norepinephrine synthesis by dopamine-beta-hydroxylase inhibition coupled with dopamine administration failed to accelerate recovery, indicating a more important role for norepinephrine compared to its precursor dopamine in motor recovery after sensorimotor cortex injury.