{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,16]],"date-time":"2026-02-16T05:05:09Z","timestamp":1771218309007,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":41,"publisher":"Oxford University Press (OUP)","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,23]],"date-time":"2026-01-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1769126400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment\u2019s Catalyst"},{"name":"Auckland Bioengineering Institute"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,5]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>Uterine smooth muscle undergoes electrical, chemical, and mechanical transients during phasic contraction. The spread of electrical activity precedes the mechanical contraction of muscle fibers, and the initiation and coordination of these events is critical to uterine function, in both pregnancy and non-pregnancy. Characterization of non-pregnant activity is scarce, and understanding of the relationship between electrical and mechanical events is not well understood. Isolated uterine horns from virgin female Wistar rats were used in this study. Electrical and mechanical activity were assessed ex vivo using high-resolution surface electrodes and motion tracking. Electrophysiology data were analyzed to provide frequency and timing metrics; displacement and velocity were quantified from the motion-tracking data. Major coordinated electrical events were correlated with longitudinal displacement of tissue markers, with the peak displacement occurring at or near the point of electrical signal initiation. Overall, 82% of electrical slow wave events were associated with mechanical displacement of tracking points. Minor uncoordinated electrical events were accompanied by little or no displacement, indicating that a level or coordination is required to achieve tissue-level contraction. Electrical slow wave propagation occurred at a higher speed (0.60\u2009\u00b1\u20090.04\u2009mm\/s) than mechanical tissue displacement velocity (0.42\u2009\u00b1\u20090.39\u2009mm\/s, p\u2009=\u20090.0024), and electrical propagation speed was lowest during metestrus when compared with estrus (p\u2009=\u20090.0042) and diestrus (p\u2009=\u20090.0066). This technique advances our understanding of the electro-mechanical properties of the non-pregnant rat uterus and provides an avenue to measure electrical\u2013mechanical coupling in ex vivo uterine tissue preparations.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1093\/reprod\/xaaf029","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,5]],"date-time":"2026-01-05T12:20:38Z","timestamp":1767615638000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Simultaneous high-resolution electrophysiology measurements and motion tracking of ex vivo rat uterine smooth muscle activity"],"prefix":"10.1093","volume":"171","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7176-0918","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Amy S","family":"Garrett","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Auckland Bioengineering Institute, University of Auckland , Auckland,","place":["New Zealand"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6674-6548","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jarrah M","family":"Dowrick","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Auckland Bioengineering Institute, University of Auckland , Auckland,","place":["New Zealand"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2703-6284","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mathias W","family":"Roesler","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Auckland Bioengineering Institute, University of Auckland , Auckland,","place":["New Zealand"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2426-8987","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Leo K","family":"Cheng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Auckland Bioengineering Institute, University of Auckland , Auckland,","place":["New Zealand"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5908-2862","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alys R","family":"Clark","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Auckland Bioengineering Institute, University of Auckland , Auckland,","place":["New Zealand"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"286","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,23]]},"reference":[{"key":"2026021523214772200_xaaf029-B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"141","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cophys.2019.11.011","article-title":"Sodium channels and transporters in the myometrium","volume":"13","author":"Amazu","year":"2020","journal-title":"Current Opinion in Physiology"},{"key":"2026021523214772200_xaaf029-B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"5646","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-023-31077-x","article-title":"Assessment of the tocolytic nifedipine in preclinical primary models of preterm birth","volume":"13","author":"Arman","year":"2023","journal-title":"Scientific Reports"},{"key":"2026021523214772200_xaaf029-B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"G254","DOI":"10.1152\/ajpgi.00069.2024","article-title":"Mapping the rat gastric slow-wave conduction pathway: Bridging in vitro and in vivo methods, revealing a loosely coupled region in the distal stomach","volume":"327","author":"Athavale","year":"2024","journal-title":"American Journal of Physiology. 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