DHA enhances functional recovery following cervical lateral hemisection in rat. A, B, In the open field locomotor test, DHA-treated animals (red circles) had significantly higher locomotor scale scores on the ratings of forelimb use than the vehicle group (blue squares) during the first and second day after surgery. The hindlimb BBB locomotor scores revealed a significant difference during the first, second, and third day after surgery. C, D, In the grid exploration test, DHA-treated animals (red circles) had fewer forelimb and hindlimb misplacements throughout the testing period compared with vehicle-treated animals (blue squares). E, F, In the Montoya staircase test, all injured animals lost the ability to displace (gross motor function) and eat (fine motor function) the food pellet after cervical lateral hemisection 2 d after injury. The animals treated with vehicle (blue squares) did not recover any food retrieval ability, but DHA-treated animals (red circles) gradually recovered food retrieval ability from around 2 weeks onwards compared with uninjured sham operated animals (green triangles). *p < 0.05. Results represent mean ± SEM.