Translational Challenges of Rat Models of Upper Extremity Dysfunction After Spinal Cord Injury

There are approximately 17,500 new spinal cord injury (SCI) cases each year in the United States, with the majority of cases resulting from a traumatic injury. Damage to the spinal cord causes either temporary or permanent changes in sensorimotor function. Given that the majority of human SCIs occur in the cervical spinal level, the experimental animal models of forelimb dysfunction play a large role in the ability to translate basic science research to clinical application. However, the variation in the design of clinical and basic science studies of forelimb/upper extremity (UE) function prevents the ease of translation. This review provides an overview of experimental models of forelimb dysfunction used in SCI research with special emphasis on the rat model of SCI. The anatomical location and types of experimental cervical lesions, functional assessments, and rehabilitation strategies used in the basic science laboratory are reviewed. Finally, we discuss the challenges of translating animal models of forelimb dysfunction to the clinical SCI human population.