Time course of motor and cognitive functions after chronic cerebral ischemia in rats

Cerebral ischemia is one of the leading causes of death and long-term disability in aging populations, due to the frequent occurrence of irreversible brain damage and subsequent loss of neuronal function which lead to cognitive impairment and some motor dysfunction. In the present study, the real time course of motor and cognitive functions were evaluated following the chronic cerebral ischemia induced by permanent, bilateral occlusion of the common carotid arteries (PBOCCA). Male Sprague Dawley rats (200-300g) were subjected to PBOCCA or sham-operated surgery and tested 1, 2, 3 and 4 weeks following the ischemic insult. The results showed that PBOCCA significantly reduced step-through latency in a passive avoidance task at all time points when compared to the sham-operated group. PBOCCA rats also showed significant increase in escape latencies during training in the Morris water maze, as well as a reduction of the percentage of times spend in target quadrant of the maze at all time points following the occlusion. Importantly, there were no significant changes in locomotor activity between PBOCCA and sham-operated groups. The BDNF expression in the hippocampus was 29.3±3.1% and 40.1±2.6% on day 14 and 28 post PBOCCA, respectively compared to sham-operated group. Present data suggest that the PBOCCA procedure effectively induces behavioral, cognitive symptoms associated with cerebral ischemia and, consequently, provides a valuable model to study ischemia and related neurodegenerative disorder such as Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia.