Publication Date
2022
Document Type
Dissertation/Thesis
First Advisor
Wallace, Douglas G.
Degree Name
Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy)
Legacy Department
Department of Psychology
Abstract
Fine motor control is a beneficial adaptation animals have developed. This ability allows animals to traverse difficult terrain, manipulate food, build shelter, and handle tools. Loss of fine motor control occurs in half of patients that survive stroke, a devastating neurological event affecting 15 million people annually. While many patients experience spontaneous recovery in the first month following stroke, about half of stroke survivors remain permanently disabled. Though medical advancements have increased survival rates, stroke remains a leading and rising cause of disability. There has been only one pharmaceutical intervention made available to patients in the last twenty five years. To evaluate emerging therapeutics, a comprehensive understanding of the neurobiology of fine motor control in both females and males is needed, as previous work has largely focused on male subjects. Though many neural regions contribute to movement, fine motor control is characterized by higher-order cortical functions such as voluntary sequential movements and spatial estimation. Impairments resulting from damage to the sensorimotor and posterior parietal cortices demonstrate the contributions of these areas to fine motor control. These regions are traditionally described to individually contribute to movement and spatial processing, respectively. However, fine motor control integrates these abilities to produce spatially directed precise movements. The current study investigated the contributions of the sensorimotor and posterior parietal cortices to fine motor control. Female and male mice received either a sensorimotor or posterior parietal unilateral pial strip or sham lesion and were evaluated in string-pulling and rung walking at several timepoints over the course of one month to assess various aspects of fine motor control. Posterior parietal devascularization impacted motivational or locomotor characteristics of movement, while sensorimotor devascularization affected directional features of movement. Devascularization to both cortical regions impacted fine motor accuracy; however, sensorimotor devascularization spared the use of compensational strategies. This study provides a novel approach to evaluate fine motor control in mice. These behavioral techniques may be used to evaluate future therapeutics developed to alleviate impairments of fine motor control experienced by stroke patients.
Recommended Citation
Osterlund Oltmanns, Jenna Rae, "Dissociating Sensorimotor and Posterior Parietal Contributions to Fine Motor Control in Female and Male Mice" (2022). Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations. 7172.
https://huskiecommons.lib.niu.edu/allgraduate-thesesdissertations/7172
Extent
255 pages
Language
eng
Publisher
Northern Illinois University
Rights Statement
In Copyright
Rights Statement 2
NIU theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors.
Media Type
Text
