@article {3390,
	title = {Locomotor impact of beneficial or nonbeneficial H-reflex conditioning after spinal cord injury.},
	journal = {J Neurophysiol},
	volume = {111},
	year = {2014},
	month = {03/2014},
	pages = {1249-58},
	abstract = {When new motor learning changes neurons and synapses in the spinal cord, it may affect previously learned behaviors that depend on the same spinal neurons and synapses. To explore these effects, we used operant conditioning to strengthen or weaken the right soleus H-reflex pathway in rats in which a right spinal cord contusion had impaired locomotion. When up-conditioning increased the H-reflex, locomotion improved. Steps became longer, and step-cycle asymmetry (i.e., limping) disappeared. In contrast, when down-conditioning decreased the H-reflex, locomotion did not worsen. Steps did not become shorter, and asymmetry did not increase. Electromyographic and kinematic analyses explained how H-reflex increase improved locomotion and why H-reflex decrease did not further impair it. Although the impact of up-conditioning or down-conditioning on the H-reflex pathway was still present during locomotion, only up-conditioning affected the soleus locomotor burst. Additionally, compensatory plasticity apparently prevented the weaker H-reflex pathway caused by down-conditioning from weakening the locomotor burst and further impairing locomotion. The results support the hypothesis that the state of the spinal cord is a "negotiated equilibrium" that serves all the behaviors that depend on it. When new learning changes the spinal cord, old behaviors undergo concurrent relearning that preserves or improves their key features. Thus, if an old behavior has been impaired by trauma or disease, spinal reflex conditioning, by changing a specific pathway and triggering a new negotiation, may enable recovery beyond that achieved simply by practicing the old behavior. Spinal reflex conditioning protocols might complement other neurorehabilitation methods and enhance recovery.},
	keywords = {Animals, Conditioning, Operant, Female, H-Reflex, Learning, Locomotion, Male, Rats, Rats, Sprague-Dawley, Spinal Cord Injuries},
	issn = {1522-1598},
	doi = {10.1152/jn.00756.2013},
	url = {http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24371288},
	author = {Yi Chen and Lu Chen and Liu, Rongliang and Wang, Yu and Xiang Yang Chen and Jonathan Wolpaw}
}
@article {3384,
	title = {Long-term recording of external urethral sphincter EMG activity in unanesthetized, unrestrained rats.},
	journal = {Am J Physiol Renal Physiol},
	volume = {307},
	year = {2014},
	month = {08/2014},
	pages = {F485-97},
	abstract = {<p>The external urethral sphincter muscle (EUS) plays an important role in urinary function and often contributes to urinary dysfunction. EUS study would benefit from methodology for longitudinal recording of electromyographic activity (EMG) in unanesthetized animals, but this muscle is a poor substrate for chronic intramuscular electrodes, and thus the required methodology has not been available. We describe a method for long-term recording of EUS EMG by implantation of fine wires adjacent to the EUS that are secured to the pubic bone. Wires pass subcutaneously to a skull-mounted plug and connect to the recording apparatus by a flexible cable attached to a commutator. A force transducer-mounted cup under a metabolic cage collected urine, allowing recording of EUS EMG and voided urine weight without anesthesia or restraint. Implant durability permitted EUS EMG recording during repeated (up to 3 times weekly) 24-h sessions for more than 8 wk. EMG and voiding properties were stable over weeks 2-8. The degree of EUS phasic activity (bursting) during voiding was highly variable, with an average of 25\% of voids not exhibiting bursting. Electrode implantation adjacent to the EUS yielded stable EMG recordings over extended periods and eliminated the confounding effects of anesthesia, physical restraint, and the potential for dislodgment of the chronically implanted intramuscular electrodes. These results show that micturition in unanesthetized, unrestrained rats is usually, but not always, associated with EUS bursting. This methodology is applicable to studying EUS behavior during progression of gradually evolving disease and injury models and in response to therapeutic interventions.</p>},
	keywords = {Animals, Electrodes, Implanted, Electromyography, Female, Pubic Bone, Rats, Rats, Sprague-Dawley, Urethra, Urination, Urodynamics},
	issn = {1522-1466},
	doi = {10.1152/ajprenal.00059.2014},
	url = {http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24990895},
	author = {LaPallo, Brandon K and Jonathan Wolpaw and Xiang Yang Chen and Jonathan S. Carp}
}
