Motor Improvement of Skilled Forelimb Use Induced by Treatment with Growth Hormone and Rehabilitation Is Dependent on the Onset of the Treatment after Cortical Ablation

Figure 1

Schematic diagram of the experimental design. In (a), (b), and (c), −10 to 0 represent the days of training of the animals for paw-reaching-for-food task and to record the preferred forelimb (preoperative stage). In day 0, the motor cortex contraleral to the preferred limb was lesioned by aspiration. Arrows indicate the days during which GH or vehicle was given to each group of animals. Two groups of lesion animals (not GH treated) were given vehicle: in one group, it was administered on days 7 and 35 postablation (altogether called LV7/LV35 group) and in another group on day 14 (LV14 group) postablation. S indicates the days during which animals received short-term rehabilitative therapy, while L indicates the days during which animals received long-term rehabilitative therapy. 17 to 35 in (a), 21 to 35 in (b), and 17 to 35 in (c) correspond to resting period days (animals were kept in their cages without receiving any treatment). 43 correspond to the last day of long-term rehabilitative therapy.

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(b)

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