Regeneration of the mammalian central vestibular pathway using the rat as animal model

Abstract

Regeneration of the mammalian central vestibular system was examined in rat. The lateral vestibulospinal tract (LVST) of infant rat was transected unilaterally at the level of C1–3. After a postoperative interval of several weeks, the LVST was examined by injecting an anterograde tracer (wheat germ agglutinin-conjugated horseradish peroxidase) into the lateral vestibular nucleus (LVN) and a retrograde tracer (Fast Blue) into the lumbar enlargement. More than half of the rats showed successful regeneration, indicating definite plasticity in the mammalian central vestibular system.