Drug Infusion into the Spinal Subarachnoid Space of Unanaesthetized Rats during Early Postnatal Life: A Technique for the Study of Brain Development

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Abstract
A convenient and rapid method for percutaneous catheterization of the spinal subarachnoid space of rats is described. The technique is particularly suited for the study of brain development and enables the investigator to infuse drugs intrathecally into unanesthetized animals during early postnatal life. At the termination of a five minute infusion of 40 and 90 microliters of Evans blue dye to five and thirty day old rats, respectively, complete penetration of the subarachnoid space and ventricular system is found. A similar infusion of carboxyl‐14C inulin to thirty day old animals results in an immediate and equal distribution of radioactivity to both sides of the brain. In five day old rats, a similar symmetrical distribution occurs within 30 minutes. In both groups of animals, a three‐fold elevation of spinal fluid pressure is found immediately after infusion, which rapidly decreases to normal resting levels within 10 minutes. In contrast to earlier cerebroventricular injection techniques, the present method avoids the problem of unequal distribution gradients created when drugs are infused near the periventricular region.