OBJECTIVE: To establish whether daily mechanical stimulation improves functional recovery of whisking after facial nerve transection injury and repair in rats. METHODS: Forty rats underwent facial nerve transection injury and repair and subsequent quantitative facial movement testing. Animals were randomized into 2 experimental groups (n = 20 each). Both groups received daily 5-minute manual stimulation of their whiskers, with one group undergoing whisker protraction and the other, whisker retraction. Rats were tested on postoperative weeks 1, 4 through 8, and 15 via a validated, quantitative whisking kinematics apparatus. Whisks were counted and analyzed for whisking amplitude, velocity, and acceleration. RESULTS: Animals receiving manual stimulation by passive protraction of their whiskers demonstrated significantly improved functional recovery at multiple time points during the 15 weeks compared with historical controls (P < .005; 1-tailed t test). Recovery was similar in the protraction and retraction groups, trending toward better whisking recovery in the protraction group. CONCLUSIONS: Daily mechanical whisker stimulation via either protraction or retraction significantly improves recovery of whisking after facial nerve transection and repair. This finding supports the role of early soft-tissue manipulation after facial nerve repair and may have clinical implications for the postoperative management of patients after facial nerve manipulations.
OBJECTIVE: To establish whether daily mechanical stimulation improves functional recovery of whisking after facial nerve transection injury and repair in rats. METHODS: Forty rats underwent facial nerve transection injury and repair and subsequent quantitative facial movement testing. Animals were randomized into 2 experimental groups (n = 20 each). Both groups received daily 5-minute manual stimulation of their whiskers, with one group undergoing whisker protraction and the other, whisker retraction. Rats were tested on postoperative weeks 1, 4 through 8, and 15 via a validated, quantitative whisking kinematics apparatus. Whisks were counted and analyzed for whisking amplitude, velocity, and acceleration. RESULTS: Animals receiving manual stimulation by passive protraction of their whiskers demonstrated significantly improved functional recovery at multiple time points during the 15 weeks compared with historical controls (P < .005; 1-tailed t test). Recovery was similar in the protraction and retraction groups, trending toward better whisking recovery in the protraction group. CONCLUSIONS: Daily mechanical whisker stimulation via either protraction or retraction significantly improves recovery of whisking after facial nerve transection and repair. This finding supports the role of early soft-tissue manipulation after facial nerve repair and may have clinical implications for the postoperative management of patients after facial nerve manipulations.
Authors: James T Heaton; Jeffrey M Kowaleski; Roberto Bermejo; H Philip Zeigler; David J Ahlgren; Tessa A Hadlock Journal: J Neurosci Methods Date: 2008-03-22 Impact factor: 2.390
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