Stereotactic Surgery - Stereotactic Surgery Research in Rodents

Stereotactic Surgery Research in Rodents

Stereotactic surgery can be used to aid research in several different types of animal studies. Specifically, it is used to target specific sites of the brain and directly introduce pharmacological agents to the brain which otherwise may not be able to cross the blood–brain barrier. In rodents, the main applications of stereotactic surgery are to introduce fluids directly to the brain or to implant cannula and microdialysis probes. Site specific central microinjections are used when rodents do not need to be awake and behaving or when the substance to be injected has a long duration of action. For protocols in which rodents’ behaviors must be assessed soon after injection, stereotactic surgery can be used to implant a cannula through which the animal can be injected after recovery from the surgery. These protocols take longer than site-specific central injections in anesthetized mice because they require the construction of cannulae, wire plugs, and injection needles, but induce less stress in the animals because they allow for a recovery period for the healing of trauma induced to the brain before injection. Surgery can also be used for microdialysis protocols to implant and tether the dialysis probe and guide cannula.