Repeated Measurement of Respiratory Muscle Activity and Ventilation in Mouse Models of Neuromuscular Disease

Accessory respiratory muscles help to maintain ventilation when diaphragm function is impaired. The following protocol describes a method for repeated measurements over weeks or months of accessory respiratory muscle activity while simultaneously measuring ventilation in a non-anesthetized, freely b...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of visualized experiments 2017-04 (122)
Main Authors: Jensen, Victoria N, Romer, Shannon H, Turner, Sarah M, Crone, Steven A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis - physiopathology
Animals
Disease Models, Animal
Electromyography - methods
Medicine
Mice
Neuromuscular Diseases - physiopathology
Plethysmography - methods
Prostheses and Implants
Respiration
Respiratory Muscles - physiopathology
Telemetry - instrumentation
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Summary:Accessory respiratory muscles help to maintain ventilation when diaphragm function is impaired. The following protocol describes a method for repeated measurements over weeks or months of accessory respiratory muscle activity while simultaneously measuring ventilation in a non-anesthetized, freely behaving mouse. The technique includes the surgical implantation of a radio transmitter and the insertion of electrode leads into the scalene and trapezius muscles to measure the electromyogram activity of these inspiratory muscles. Ventilation is measured by whole-body plethysmography, and animal movement is assessed by video and is synchronized with electromyogram activity. Measurements of muscle activity and ventilation in a mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis are presented to show how this tool can be used to investigate how respiratory muscle activity changes over time and to assess the impact of muscle activity on ventilation. The described methods can easily be adapted to measure the activity of other muscles or to assess accessory respiratory muscle activity in additional mouse models of disease or injury.
ISSN:1940-087X
1940-087X
DOI:10.3791/55599