Movement Recovery Lab Publishes Study on Measuring Forelimb Sensation

A new paper from the Movement Recovery Laboratory, published in Neuroscience, introduces a semi-automated tool designed to precisely measure vibration sensitivity in rat models. Sensation plays an important role in how well people use their hands. When the brain or spinal cord cannot clearly receive information from the hand, movements can become harder to control. Until now, researchers have had limited ways to measure this type of sensation in preclinical studies. This new system addresses the gap, offering scientists a more reliable way to track changes in sensation over time.

Developed, in partnership with Vulintus, Inc, the new system measures whether an animal can feel a small vibration through the forelimb by training it to reach out, hold a lever and release it as soon as it feels a burst of vibration. The system automatically records the response, allowing for seemless and objective data collection. Traditional tests often rely on painful and uncomfortable stimuli to measure sensation. In contrast, this task focusses on fine touch and produces stable reliable measurements without causing any discomfort to the animal. The tool successfully trained rats to produce stable measures of vibration sensitivity, mapping precise changes in sensory perception after temporary nerve blocks and injury to the dorsal column-medial lemniscus pathway, a major sensory pathway for touch. The findings proved that the tool could robustly measure sensitivity and track sensory impairments and recovery over time.

This work builds on past findings from the Movement Recovery Lab showing that sensory system injury is strongly related to impaired hand function in children with hemiplegia. By creating a reliable way to measure forelimb sensation in preclinical models, the study advances the lab’s broader effort to understand how sensory and motor systems work together after early brain injury. 

"Therapies aimed at improving sensation are still experimental, which is why they need to be tested in model systems first,” said Jason B. Carmel, MD, PhD, Director of the Movement Recovery Lab. “This new tool lets us measure whether sensation improves.”

The work may also support future development of therapies aimed at improving sensory function and hand recovery for people with cerebral palsy hemiplegia.