Initial training facilitates posttraumatic motor recovery in rats after pyramidal tract lesion and in conditions of induced regeneration

Abstract

Training induces plastic changes within the normal and injured brain. Experiments were performed on 48 albino rats. Part of the experimental animals were initially trained to a balancing instrumental conditioned reflex (ICR). Unilateral bulbar pyramidotomy performed in all rats caused contralateral hemiparesis. To make the study results more reliable, recovery of motor skills was evaluated also in conditions of stimulated regeneration. The obtained results indicate that preoperative training in rats contributes to the accelerated recovery of learned motor skills.