Ex Vivo Spinal Cord Model
Ex Vivo Spinal Cord Model - Related Videos
10:24
In vivo Imaging of the Mouse Spinal Cord Using Two-photon Microscopy
0 Views •
Cited by 42 •
2012
A minimally invasive protocol to stabilize the mouse spinal column and perform repetitive in vivo spinal cord imaging using two-photon microscopy is described. This method combines a spinal stabilization device and an anesthetic regimen to minimize respiratory-induced movements and produce raw imaging data that require no alignment or other post-processing.
09:22
In Vivo Telemetry to Record Long-Term Cardiovascular Parameters, Temperature, and Activity in Spinal Cord Injury Rat Models
0 Views •
2026
This article presents a step-by-step protocol for the placement of an in vivo telemetric implant in the descending aorta of rats, allowing continuous and long-term monitoring of cardiovascular parameters, core body temperature, and animal activity before and after severe high-thoracic spinal cord injury.
03:23
Generating a Mouse Model with a Spinal Cord Injury
0 Views •
2025
Source: Kumar, S., et. al. Mouse Model of Pressure Ulcers After Spinal Cord Injury. J. Vis. Exp. (2019)This video demonstrates a detailed induction of spinal cord injury in mice. The anesthetized mouse is dissected to expose T9-T10 vertebrae, and their spinous processes are removed. The exposed spinal cord is then transected to inflict the injury. The surgical area is then closed, and the mouse is allowed to recover.
08:57
Acute and Chronic Tactile Sensory Testing after Spinal Cord Injury in Rats
0 Views •
Cited by 55 •
2012
We describe two tactile sensory testing methods for acute or chronic periods of spinal cord injury in rats. These validated procedures can detect the development and maintenance of allodynia-like sensations.
02:13
Inducing a Spinal Cord Contusion in a Mouse Model Using a Spinal Cord Injury Coaxial Platform
0 Views •
2025
Source: Elzat, E. Y. Y., et al., Establishing a Mouse Contusion Spinal Cord Injury Model Based on a Minimally Invasive Technique. J. Vis. Exp. (2022).This video demonstrates the method for inducing a contusion injury at the T9 level spinal cord in a mouse model, using a spinal cord injury coaxial platform. A weight is dropped on the T9 level spinal cord that creates a contusion that immediately causes tissue discoloration and swelling.
FAQs
Oxygenated artificial cerebrospinal fluid provides the surrounding chemical environment needed to maintain tissue viability after isolation. This allows spinal neurons, synapses, and interconnected pathways to remain active long enough for controlled stimulation and recording. Maintaining this environment is essential because changes in tissue viability could alter neuronal or network activity and complicate interpretation of experimental results.
Preserved spinal circuits allow researchers to examine how groups of neurons and synaptic connections generate coordinated activity rather than studying isolated cells alone. Electrical or sensory stimulation can reveal how these pathways respond as a network. This circuit-level access is especially relevant to locomotion research, where integrated motor activity provides information that single-cell measurements cannot capture by themselves.
Electrical and sensory stimulation provide defined inputs for testing how spinal pathways process and transmit signals. Researchers can record neuronal or network activity after applying these inputs, then relate the responses to synaptic signaling or motor circuit function. Because the preparation reduces whole-animal variables, changes in activity can be interpreted more directly in relation to the stimulated spinal circuitry.
A typical workflow isolates the spinal cord, places the tissue in oxygenated artificial cerebrospinal fluid, and maintains conditions that preserve neural activity. Researchers then apply electrical or sensory stimulation while recording neuronal or network responses. This sequence creates a controlled preparation in which experimental inputs and measured circuit outcomes can be examined without the additional variables present in a whole-animal experiment.
The preparation can provide measurements of neuronal activity, network activity, synaptic signaling, and motor circuit function. These outcomes connect activity at the cellular or synaptic level with responses produced by broader spinal networks. Such measurements help researchers determine how spinal pathways operate and how experimental interventions influence integrated neural function.
Researchers may choose this model when they need direct access to spinal pathways under controlled conditions. The preparation reduces variables associated with the rest of the organism while retaining functional neural circuits, making it useful for focused studies of locomotion, pain, neurodegeneration, and spinal cord injury. It can therefore bridge mechanistic cellular studies and more integrated circuit-level analysis.
An ex vivo spinal cord model can be used to evaluate drugs, biomaterials, and neuromodulation strategies by measuring their effects on spinal neuronal or network activity. Researchers can examine whether an intervention changes synaptic signaling or motor circuit function in the isolated preparation. These observations provide controlled neuroscience evidence before interpreting how such approaches may affect broader spinal functions.