We previously have published data detailing the time course of taste bud regeneration in the anterior tongue following transection of the chorda tympani (CT) nerve in the rat. This study extends the prior work by determining the time course of taste bud regeneration in the vallate papilla, soft palate and nasoincisor ducts (NID) following transection of either the glossopharyngeal (GL) or great...

IMPORTANCE Recovery from facial nerve transection is typically poor, but daily mechanical stimulation of the face in rats has been reported to remarkably enhance functional recovery after facial nerve transection and suture repair. This phenomenon needs additional investigation because of its important clinical implications. OBJECTIVE To determine whether automated mechanical stimulation of the...

The medial part of the L4 and 5 dorsal horn in adult rats is dominated by afferents from the toes and foot. After transection of the sciatic and saphenous nerves, virtually all cells in this region are left without any peripheral receptive field. Beginning 4 to 5 days after nerve section, however, many peripherally deafferented cells take on a novel receptive field on the thigh, lower back, or ...

It has been proposed that the responses of the cerebral circulation to hypoxia, hypercapnia and hypotension may be partially mediated by an autonomic reflex with receptors in the carotid body or sinus serving as sensors and the efferent limbs being the 7th cranial nerves. Transection of the 7th cranial nerve has been reported to impair the cerebral circulatory response to isolated chemoreceptor...

BACKGROUND Recent studies shows that hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy exerts some protective effects against neural injuries. The purpose of this study was to determine the neuroprotective effects of HBO following sciatic nerve transection (SNT). METHODS Rats were randomly divided into five groups (n = 14 per group): Sham-operated (SH) group, SH + HBO group, SNT group, and SNT + pre- and SNT +...

Injury severity, operative technique and nerve regeneration are important factors to consider when constructing a model of peripheral nerve injury. Here, we present a novel peripheral nerve injury model and compare it with the complete sciatic nerve transection method. In the experimental group, under a microscope, a 3-mm longitudinal incision was made in the epineurium of the sciatic nerve to ...

PURPOSE Our study aimed to explore the feasibility of manganese-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MEMRI) combined with visual evoked potentials (VEP) and auditory evoked visual cortex responses (AVR) in evaluating for the establishment of visual/auditory compensatory pathways after monocular blindness. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 14 healthy neonatal male Sprague-Dawley rats were rando...

Neuropathic pain is a complex syndrome resulting from damage to the peripheral nervous system. Central neuroimmune activation contributes to the generation and maintenance of chronic pain after nerve injury. The current study determined the effects of recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO) on behavioral hyperalgesia and neuroimmune activation in a rat model of neuropathic pain induced by L5 s...