Dominik C. Dotzauer

Animals and study design Forty Sprague Dawley rats (male, age 8–10 weeks, weighing ∼400 g) were used in this study. The resection procedure of the facial nerve was performed in all rats as described previously (Tetzlaff et al., 1988; Tereshenko et al., 2021). Video assessment of the movement of the whiskers was performed 2, 8, 12, and 16 weeks after the surgery (n = 15). An additional group of unoperated rats was included to assess the whisker movement score (n = 15).