Calcium Fluxes in Work-Related Muscle Disorder: Implications from a Rat Model

Figure 1

Task performance after 1, 3, and 6 weeks of repetitive reaching and grasping at high repetition high force (HRHF) levels. (a) Rat is shown reaching through a portal to pull on a lever bar attached to a force transducer for a food reward (AC = auditory clicker for cueing; FD = food dispenser). (b) HRHF rats had progressively increasing numbers of reaches rewarded, although they remained below the target of 120 rewards/session in each week, compared to week 1; , compared to week 1. (c) HRHF rats showed reduced reach rates below the target of 4 reaches/minute in session 3 of week 3 and in sessions 2 and 3 of week 6, compared to session 1 of the same week. (d) HRHF rats show a reduced ability to maintain target reach impulse levels in sessions 2 and 3, of weeks 3 and 6, compared to session 1 of the same week. In (c) and (d), and represent and , compared to session 1; mean ± SEM shown.

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