Electrophysiological Analysis in an Animal Model of Dystonia

Dystonia is a movement disorder characterized by patterned, repetitive, and sustained muscle contractions that cause ineffective and often painful movements. The overall goal of this project was to understand the physiological mechanisms of dystonia in a rodent model as a basis for developing innovative treatments for secondary dystonias. The first half of the project was focused at developing essential techniques for systematically investigating the movement disorder in these animals. For achieving this, an innovative, multi-faceted approach was pursued starting with electromyographic (EMG) analysis for animal model validation, gait analysis for dystonia quantification, and development of a novel stereotaxic apparatus for recording brain activity during awake conditions. The later half of the project was focused on understanding how brain circuitry produces abnormal motor control in dystonia. Single and multi-unit neuronal activity was collected from individual basal ganglia nuclei along with EMG recordings to characterize the abnormal patterns of firing in dystonic animals and determine how neurons within individual nuclei communicate in dystonia, respectively. The findings of the current project have lead to new insights into the pathophysiology and treatment of secondary kernicteric dystonia and other secondary dystonia in humans.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Biomedical Engineering

Year dc:date.available

2010

Author dc:creator

• Chaniary, Kunal

Contributors dc:contributor

• Paul Wetzel

• dystonia
• electrophysiology
• Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering
• Engineering

Statement dc:rights

• © The Author

Identifier

https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/93

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarscompass.vcu.edu:etd-1092