Hi David,

the behavioral effects of unilaterral dopanmine deplition can be easily tested with the amphetamine (or apomorphine) induced turning (rotational behavior) test. Of course, this is a very gross behavioral parameter.

Best regards,

Fabio

Hello hardworking David,

Elevated Body Swing Test is possoble good as a measure of asymmetrical motor bihaviour of hemiparkinsonian animals in a drug-free state - to Borlongan and Sanberg from 1995. Proved to be useful in research with 6-OHDA lesioned rats exhibit rightbiased swings of 70% or higher compared to normal rats.

I wish you much success in their future scientific research.

Milorad

With regard to the question of Rotarod Perfomance Test, I wholly agree with the opinions you just receive of esteemed Morellini Fabio that before my reply.

I agree with Fabio, the amphetamine test is one of the most commonly used for the assessment of unilateral 6-OHDA lesions. However, if you don't have an automated rotometer to record the number of rotations, it will be hard to get accurate data.

I suggest that you read the following book chapter, it should help you make a decision: Comparing Behavioral Assessment of Sensorimotor Function in Rat and Mouse Models of Parkinson’s Disease and Stroke by Sheila M. Fleming and Timothy Schallert, Animal Models of Movement Disorders.

You might want to consider the cylinder test (looking at limb-use asymmetry while exploring a transparent cylinder (you can use a big becker if you don't have a cylinder)) or the Vibrissae-elicited limb placing test, as you've mentioned.

Importantly, I strongly advise you to avoid the Elevated Body Swing Test in rats, they are too heavy for that and you risk to hurt them, holding them by the tail for too long.

Best wishes.

Lu

Dear David,

Ludivine's comment is totally correct. As well her suggestion to use the cylinder test (!). I just wanted to add that you can get reliable quantification of rotations if you have a good tracking system (in particular if it allows a three-point detection of the body). In this case you just need to put the animals in an open field. I have no experience with rats, but unilaterally lesioned mice spontaneously rotate also in a normal (square) open field after amphetamine (or apomorphine) injection. For instance, Ethovisijavascript:on from Noldus can count rotations (clockwise and counterclockwise), as well as the relative and absolute values of parameters such as meander, turning angle and turning velocity (relative and absolute values ). There are also other cheaper systems out there (e.g., Any-maze). The only problem is that you have to invest some time in "calibrating" the detection settings (for instance, defining the criterion for a rotation) and test whether the automated analysis matches your manual evaluation.

Cheers,

Fabio

Thank you for your considerate replies! When I wrote this question, I forgot to note that I am hoping to find a test that works well ON and OFF L-DOPA (hence why I like the forepaw adjusting steps test so much!).

I have used the cylinder test a few times and agree that it is great for determining if a rat is properly lesioned. But, has anyone had any luck using it with L-DOPA in order to show reversal of Parkinsonian deficit? I have tried using the cylinder test with L-DOPA and dopamine agonists, but the problem is that the animals get dyskinetic and end up slamming their lesioned/dyskinetic forelimb into the cylinder repeatedly. So, compared with when I test them OFF L-DOPA, I get decreased intact forelimb placements and (tremendously) increased lesioned forelimb placements. At that point, the test doesn't seem to be measuring Parkinsonian disability as much as dyskinesia, so then I throw the data out and wish I had a better test :)

Regarding the use of automated rotation counters, first, I'm jealous that other laboratories have these and my lab does not. But I should note that it is quite possible to count rotations manually while the rat is placed in a clear cylinder (I do it all the time!). The precision isn't ideal, but it does work well enough to determine lesion status.

Thanks again!

David