Compound muscle action potential recording quantitatively assesses functional diaphragm innervation by phrenic motor neurons. Whole-mount diaphragm immunohistochemistry assesses morphological innervation at individual neuromuscular junctions. The goal of this protocol is to demonstrate how these two powerful methodologies can be used in various rodent models of spinal cord disease.
Martin, M., Li, K., Wright, M. C., Lepore, A. C. Functional and Morphological Assessment of Diaphragm Innervation by Phrenic Motor Neurons. J. Vis. Exp. (99), e52605, doi:10.3791/52605 (2015).