Video 2. Open-field scoring of spasticity and disordered sensorimotor forelimb movements of rats with bilateral pyramidotomies (Supplementary to Figure 1 and Experimental Procedures).
Rats exhibiting signs of disordered sensorimotor control have their forepaw digits in a flexed position during swing phase presumably because of hypertonic flexor muscles in the forepaw. Movements of the wrist, elbow and shoulder are corrective (swing trajectory is non-linear) and rigid during swing phase. Stance is narrower compared to controls, with forepaws aligning rostrocaudally or with forepaws crossing over. Furthermore, during the loading response of the stance phase, the forepaw makes multiple contacts as weight bearing starts (muscle jerks causing a 'dampened bounce'). Rats display 'associated reactions', such as single muscle jerks, prolonged muscle contractions and repeated muscle jerks. All these behaviours were scored with the forelimb scale shown in Figure 1—figure supplement 2. Videos show a number of different rats at a range of time points after CNS injury.