Time course of motor behavior changes in Mongolian gerbils submitted to different durations of cerebral ischemia

Abstract: In addition to morphological changes, global cerebral ischemia leads to functional changes that can be assessed by behavioral examination. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of the duration of global cerebral ischemia on the time course of a comprehensive set of motor behaviors in Mongolian gerbils. The common carotid arteries of gerbils were occluded either for 5min, 10min, or 15min. Gerbil motor behavior was recorded in the open field at 24h, 48h, 4 days, 7 days, 14 days, 21 days, and 28 days after reperfusion. Each session lasted for 60min and was composed of six intervals of 10min. Our results revealed that ischemic gerbils quickly develop locomotor and stereotypic hyperactivity, with the expected decrease of resting time. The most evident effect was observed in gerbils submitted to a 15min ischemia, whose locomotor activity returned to nearly normal values after 7 days. In contrast, the duration of global cerebral ischemia had no effects on rearing, clockwise, or counter-clockwise rotation. These findings indicate that exposure to global cerebral ischemia induces changes in locomotion, stereotypy, and resting time. The magnitude and duration of these effects depend on the duration of ischemia. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]