Our work is funded by Tianjin Undergraduate Training Programs for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (Grant No. 63183004). This project was initiated in the State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology at Nankai University. The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interests.

This study was performed according to the international, national and institutional rules considering animal experiments. The study protocol was approved by the animal ethics committee of Nankai University.
1. MPTP and L-DOPA administration
NOTE: Ten-week-old female BALB/c mice were provided by the Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Mice were housed six per cage under a 12 h light/dark cycle (lights on at 08:00-20:00), a constant temperature of 21-22 &#176;C and a relative humidity of 55% &#177; 5%. Autoclaved standard mice chow of the same formulation and water ad libitum was given to all animals.
<ol>
	<li>After one week of acclimatization, divide the animals into three groups of six mice each.</li>
	<li>To Group 1, administer intraperitoneal injections (see step 1.5) of 250 &#181;L/mouse/day of saline from day 1 to day 7 and then perform intragastric administration (see step 1.6) of 250 &#181;L/mouse of saline on day 8.</li>
	<li>To Group 2, administer intraperitoneal injections of 20 mg/kg/day of MPTP every day from day 1 to day 7 and then perform intragastric administration of 250 &#181;L/mouse of saline on day 8.</li>
	<li>To Group 3, administer intraperitoneal injections of 20 mg/kg/day of MPTP from day 1 to day 7 and then perform intragastric administration of 5 mg/kg of L-DOPA on day 8.</li>
	<li>Perform the intraperitoneal injection as follows.
	<ol>
		<li>Load the drug into a sterile 1 mL syringe with a 26 G needle. Eliminate air from the syringe.</li>
		<li>Scruff the mouse with its belly facing up. Keep the head, neck and body of the mouse in a straight line as well with the head fixed.</li>
		<li>Angle the needle to penetrate the peritoneum. Push the needle for a proper distance until there is little resistance, and then inject the drug. Pull out the needle smoothly.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>Perform the intragastric administration as follows.
	<ol>
		<li>Prepare the medication in a sterile 1 mL syringe with an oral-gavage needle. Eliminate air from the syringe.</li>
		<li>Hold the mouse with its belly facing up. Keep the head, neck and body of the mouse in a straight line with the head fixed.</li>
		<li>Keep the needle parallel to the body of the mouse, and insert it from the corner of the mouse&#39;s mouth, pressing the tongue and pushing inward against the upper jaw.</li>
		<li>With little resistance, which shows the needle is entering the esophagus smoothly, carefully push the needle in a proper distance. Before the tip of the needle reaches the bottom part of chest, inject the medication.</li>
		<li>Pull out the needle smoothly.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
</ol>
2. Cylinder test
NOTE: The behavioral tests were performed on day 8. L-DOPA was injected to the third group of mice 40 min before the behavioral tests. If the behavioral testing is not done in the same room where the animals are housed, animals need to be acclimated to the new room for 30-60 min before test.
<ol>
	<li>Perform the test 24 h after the last dose of MPTP.</li>
	<li>Place a transparent glass cylinder (height = 19.5 cm, diameter = 15 cm, weight &#8805;1 kg) at the center of a table. Surround the cylinder on three sides with black cardboard to reduce the effect of environmental lighting. Leave one side of the cylinder facing the camera for video recording. 
	NOTE: The distance between the cardboard and cylinder should be about 4 to 8 cm.</li>
	<li>Attach a camera (&#62; 1 million-pixel resolution) at ~40-60 cm away from the cylinder to ensure that the full cylinder is visible. 
	NOTE: This is neither too near nor too far so as to not disturb the mouse while recording the video of its movement.</li>
	<li>Place one mouse into the cylinder at a time and start filming at once. Stop filming after 3 min. 
	NOTE: During this process, try to avoid noise or light changes in order avoid influencing the mouse&#8217;s behavior.</li>
	<li>Place the mouse back into the home cage after testing.</li>
	<li>Clean the cylinder with water and then spray 70% v/v ethanol over the inner wall to sanitize it and remove mouse scents. Wipe the cylinder dry before another mouse is placed into.</li>
	<li>Play back the video at a rate of 0.5x the regular speed and count the number of paw lifts against the wall of each mouse. 
	NOTE: Paw lifts occur when the mouse rears up on its hindlimbs, raises both forelimbs above shoulder level and lands. One forelimb lift is NOT counted. Usually, a mouse raises its forelimbs to touch the cylinder walls. If the mouse raises its forelimbs above shoulder level several times continuously without landing, it should be counted only as once.</li>
</ol>
3. Open field test
<ol>
	<li>Perform the open field test 24 h after MPTP dosing. 
	NOTE: It can be carried out at the same time of the cylinder test.</li>
	<li>Prepare a transparent open field reaction box (45 cm L x 45 cm W x 25 cm H) with a wooden plate cover at the bottom by a black cloth. Fix a camera (&#62; 1 million-pixel resolution) over the field at a height of 1 m. 
	NOTE: The color of open field box bottom should be different from the tested mouse color to ensure color contrast in the video.</li>
	<li>Adjust the camera to make sure that the open field reaction box is right in the center of the video.</li>
	<li>Put one test mouse into the box, and let the mouse familiarize itself with the environment for about 1 min.</li>
	<li>Record a 5 min video using the camera connected to the computer.</li>
	<li>Analyze the video using software tools (e.g., MATLAB) to get the movement trace figure, the distribution of static (velocity &#60;1 cm/s), walking (velocity 1-20 cm/s) and running (velocity &#62;20 cm/s) time, the total traveled distance, and average speed of each tested mouse. 
	NOTE: When analyzing the video, we track the whole body of the mouse. The average speed of a body means the total length of path covered, divided by the elapsed time. Therefore, if a mouse is not moving, its instantaneous velocity would be considered as zero.</li>
	<li>Clean up any feces in the open field reaction box. Spray 70% ethanol on the box and wipe it.</li>
</ol>

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The authors have nothing to disclose.

Due to destruction of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra of the brain, MPTP causes Parkinson&#39;s-like symptoms in mice7. L-DOPA is the most preferred drug for PD ever since its clinical use, because it helps in maintaining normal daily activities in patients with PD, with effective suppression of motor abnormalities including akinesia and rigidity15. The mice treated with MPTP showed impairments in the behavioral tests like cylinder test and open field test, whi...

Parkinson&#39;s disease (PD), one of the most common diseases among older individuals, is a long-term neurodegenerative disorder1. Patients always show the phenomenon of shaking, rigidity, slowness of movement and dementia that worsen over time2. Other symptoms including sensory, sleep, and emotional problems are also commonly observed2. The cause of PD is still unclear, but it is generally believed to involve both genetic and environmental factors, which induce loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra3, and development of Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites in various regions of the brain4.
Among the studies of PD, 1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)5 is adapted widely in recreating some PD symptoms in experimental models. In 1984, Langston et al. first found that injections of MPTP in squirrel monkeys resulted in Parkinsonism6. Although the MPTP rodent model doesn&#39;t show the presence of Lewy bodies, which is the biomarker of PD, MPTP causes Parkinson&#39;s-like symptoms by destroying dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra of the brain7. Compared to other drug model for PD such as those induced by 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)8 and 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP+)9, injection of MPTP is easy to execute and the MPTP model takes less time. Mice receive MPTP injections (20-30 mg/kg/day) for seven days, and the behavioral tests are performed on the eighth day10.
The open field test11 was first developed by Calvin S. Hall, an American12. In various studies, different kinds of behaviors are tested. In research which focuses on Parkinson&#39;s diseases, behaviors like locomotion activities and the speed of locomotion are tested to see if the animal&#39;s ability to move around is affected. Compared with other methods used to test the establishment of PD animals, open field test is easy to carry out because the equipment needed is simple, and prototyping and data analysis software (e.g., MATLAB, Excel) can be used to easily collect and graph the data. Also, the coefficient of variation is relatively small13, which means that the result of open field test is reliable. Another advantage over other methods is that the behaviors included in this experiment are easy to distinguish; the mice can be either running, walking or standing still. Usually the open field test can be used on rodents when the researcher needs to evaluate the subject&#39;s mobility.
The Cylinder test is also called the test of asymmetric use of forelimbs. When this test was first designed, it was used to test the asymmetric use of the rat&#39;s forelimbs14. Here, we use this test to analyze the animal&#39;s ability to stretch out and use both of its forelimbs to explore new surroundings. When the substantia nigra and corpus striatum are damaged by MPTP in the brain, the animal tends to arch its back and becomes less likely to stretch out and explore the unknown environment. This test is easy to execute and can give a preliminary result. However, this test has high internal variability, so it is generally used with along with other behavior experiments.
Taking L-DOPA, which is also known as levodopa or L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine, is a common way to treat Parkinson&#39;s disease since one cause of PD is the decrease of dopamine in the . L-DOPA is the precursor to dopamine. But unlike dopamine, it can cross the blood-brain barrier, which means that it will be more efficient in increasing the concentration of dopamine in the brain area. After it crosses the blood-brain barrier, L-DOPA is converted into dopamine by L-amino acid decarboxylase15.
Here we describe the measurement and analysis of motor function in MPTP-induced-PD model mice using a cylinder test14 and a modified open field test. We administer L-DOPA as one example to show how to apply this model in the study of PD drugs. Our results indicate that MPTP induces motor deficit that can be mitigated by L-DOPA.

<table>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>70% Ethanol</td>
			<td>Ruiboxing Company</td>
			<td>RBX-64175</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Camera</td>
			<td>BASLER</td>
			<td>acA645-100gm</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Cylinder test</td>
			<td>Made in-house at Nankai University</td>
			<td>N/A</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Excel</td>
			<td>Microsoft</td>
			<td>N/A</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Levodopa</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>72816</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Matalb 2017a</td>
			<td>Mathworks</td>
			<td>N/A</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Mice</td>
			<td>Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences</td>
			<td>Balb/c</td>
			<td>Adult female mice(10 weeks)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>MPTP</td>
			<td>Yuanye Biological Technology Company Ltd., Shanghai</td>
			<td>S31504-500mg</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Open field test</td>
			<td>Made in-house at Nankai University</td>
			<td>N/A</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Syringe</td>
			<td>Solelybio</td>
			<td>S-xsgwz-w</td>
			<td>Irrigation</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Syringe</td>
			<td>Jiangxi Fenglin Medical Application Co.</td>
			<td>hc3824</td>
			<td>Intraperitoneal injection</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

behavioral assessments of spontaneous locomotion in a murine mptp-induced parkinson's disease model

Parkinson&#8217;s disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder disease, causing the phenomenon of shaking, rigidity, slowness of movement and dementia. 1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) can lead to some Parkinson&#8217;s-like symptoms by destroying dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra of the brain. It has been thus used to establish PD models in various animal studies. Here, mice receive MPTP injections (20 mg/kg/day) for seven days and the behavioral tests are performed on the eighth day. This model is adapted efficiently in the study of PD. The behavioral tests here include the cylinder test and the open field test. The cylinder experiment is used to detect the animals&#8217; ability to lift their front paws when put into a different environment. As the PD model mice show arching&#8212;the mouse arches its back&#8212;the number of paw liftings decrease. This test is easy to execute. The open field test is used to detect the amount of time the mice spend on running, walking, and remaining immobile. We analyze animals&#8217; movements in open field using software and obtain data. Lastly, we use L-DOPA, one of the most commonly used PD drugs, as one example to show how to apply this model to the study of PD drugs. Our results indicate that MPTP neurotoxicity induces motor deficit which can be mitigated by L-DOPA.

In the cylinder test, the decrease of rears against the wall was observed in mice (group 2) treated with MPTP from day 1 to day 7 and saline on day 8 as compared with saline-treated mice (group 1), while an increase of rears was observed in the mice (group 3) treated with MPTP from day 1 to day 7 and L-DOPA on day 8 as compared with the mice (group 2) treated with MPTP from day 1 to day 7 and saline on day 8 (Figure 1).
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Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Behavioral Assessments of Spontaneous Locomotion in a Murine MPTP-induced Parkinson's Disease Model at JoVE.com

Behavioral Assessments of Spontaneous Locomotion in a Murine MPTP-induced Parkinson's Disease Model

We describe establishment of a murine model for Parkinson's disease using MPTP, and behavioral assessments using cylinder and open field tests to measure motor function. We then use L-DOPA as one example to show how to apply this model in the study of PD drugs.

Parkinson&#8217;s disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder disease, causing the phenomenon of shaking, rigidity, slowness of movement and ...

behavioral-assessments-spontaneous-locomotion-murine-mptp-induced

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17.6K Views.  Nankai University. We describe establishment of a murine model for Parkinson's disease using MPTP, and behavioral assessments using cylinder and open field tests to measure motor function. We then use L-DOPA as one example to show how to apply this model in the study of PD drugs.

Video: Behavioral Assessments of Spontaneous Locomotion in a Murine MPTP-induced Parkinson's Disease Model

Assessment of Sensorimotor Function in Mouse Models of Parkinson's Disease

Sensitive and reliable behavioral outcome measures are essential to the evaluation of potential therapeutic treatments in preclinical trials for many neurodegenerative diseases. In Parkinson's disease, sensorimotor tests sensitive to varying degrees of nigrostriatal dysfunction are fundamental for testing the efficacy of potential therapeutics. Reliable and quite elegant sensorimotor measures exist for rats, however many of these tests measure sensorimotor asymmetry within the rat and are not entirely suitable for the newer genetic mouse models of PD. We have put together a battery of sensorimotor tests inspired by the sensitive tests in rats and adapted for mice. The test battery highlighted in this study is chosen for a) its sensitivity in a wide variety of mouse models of PD, b) its ease in implementing into a study, and c) its low expense. These tests have proven useful in characterizing novel genetic mouse models of PD as well as in testing potential disease-modifying therapies.

In Parkinson's disease and movement disorders in general, sensitive and reliable behavioral assays are essential for testing novel potential therapeutics. Here, we describe a manageable battery of sensorimotor tests for mice that are sensitive to varying degrees of injury to the nigrostriatal system and useful for preclinical studies.

Sensitive and  reliable behavioral outcome measures are essential to the evaluation of  potential therapeutic treatments in preclinical trials for many  ...

Behavioral Phenotyping of Murine Disease Models with the Integrated Behavioral Station (INBEST)

Due to rapid advances in genetic engineering, small rodents have become the preferred subjects in many disciplines of biomedical research. In studies of chronic CNS disorders, there is an increasing demand for murine models with high validity at the behavioral level. However, multiple pathogenic mechanisms and complex functional deficits often impose challenges to reliably measure and interpret behavior of chronically sick mice. Therefore, the assessment of peripheral pathology and a behavioral profile at several time points using a battery of tests are required. Video-tracking, behavioral spectroscopy, and remote acquisition of physiological measures are emerging technologies that allow for comprehensive, accurate, and unbiased behavioral analysis in a home-base-like setting. This report describes a refined phenotyping protocol, which includes a custom-made monitoring apparatus (Integrated Behavioral Station, INBEST) that focuses on prolonged measurements of basic functional outputs, such as spontaneous activity, food/water intake and motivated behavior in a relatively stress-free environment. Technical and conceptual improvements in INBEST design may further promote reproducibility and standardization of behavioral studies.

Behavioral Phenotyping of Murine Disease Models with the Integrated Behavioral Station INBEST

Prolonged and comprehensive monitoring of mice in a home-cage environment provides a deeper understanding of aberrant behavior in murine models of brain diseases. This paper describes the Integrated Behavioral Station (INBEST) as the key component of contemporary behavioral analysis.

Due to rapid advances in genetic engineering, small rodents have become the preferred subjects in many disciplines of biomedical research. In studies of ...

Compensatory Limb Use and Behavioral Assessment of Motor Skill Learning Following Sensorimotor Cortex Injury in a Mouse Model of Ischemic Stroke

Mouse models have become increasingly popular in the field of behavioral neuroscience, and specifically in studies of experimental stroke. As models advance, it is important to develop sensitive behavioral measures specific to the mouse. The present protocol describes a skilled motor task for use in mouse models of stroke. The Pasta Matrix Reaching Task functions as a versatile and sensitive behavioral assay that permits experimenters to collect accurate outcome data and manipulate limb use to mimic human clinical phenomena including compensatory strategies (i.e., learned non-use) and focused rehabilitative training. When combined with neuroanatomical tools, this task also permits researchers to explore the mechanisms that support behavioral recovery of function (or lack thereof) following stroke. The task is both simple and affordable to set up and conduct, offering a variety of training and testing options for numerous research questions concerning functional outcome following injury. Though the task has been applied to mouse models of stroke, it may also be beneficial in studies of functional outcome in other upper extremity injury models.

Mouse models have become increasingly popular in studies of behavioral neuroscience. As models advance, it is important to develop sensitive behavioral measures specific to the mouse. This protocol describes the Pasta Matrix Reaching Task, which is a skilled motor task for use in mouse models of stroke.

Mouse models have become increasingly popular in the field of behavioral neuroscience, and specifically in studies of experimental stroke. As models ...

A Procedure to Observe Context-induced Renewal of Pavlovian-conditioned Alcohol-seeking Behavior in Rats

Environmental contexts in which drugs of abuse are consumed can trigger craving, a subjective Pavlovian-conditioned response that can facilitate drug-seeking behavior and prompt relapse in abstinent drug users. We have developed a procedure to study the behavioral and neural processes that mediate the impact of context on alcohol-seeking behavior in rats. Following acclimation to the taste and pharmacological effects of 15% ethanol in the home cage, male Long-Evans rats receive Pavlovian discrimination training (PDT) in conditioning chambers. In each daily (Mon-Fri) PDT session, 16 trials each of two different 10 sec auditory conditioned stimuli occur. During one stimulus, the CS+, 0.2 ml of 15% ethanol is delivered into a fluid port for oral consumption. The second stimulus, the CS-, is not paired with ethanol. Across sessions, entries into the fluid port during the CS+ increase, whereas entries during the CS- stabilize at a lower level, indicating that a predictive association between the CS+ and ethanol is acquired. During PDT each chamber is equipped with a specific configuration of visual, olfactory and tactile contextual stimuli. Following PDT, extinction training is conducted in the same chamber that is now equipped with a different configuration of contextual stimuli. The CS+ and CS- are presented as before, but ethanol is withheld, which causes a gradual decline in port entries during the CS+. At test, rats are placed back into the PDT context and presented with the CS+ and CS- as before, but without ethanol. This manipulation triggers a robust and selective increase in the number of port entries made during the alcohol predictive CS+, with no change in responding during the CS-. This effect, referred to as context-induced renewal, illustrates the powerful capacity of contexts associated with alcohol consumption to stimulate alcohol-seeking behavior in response to Pavlovian alcohol cues.

A procedure to study the capacity of an alcohol associated environmental context to trigger the renewal of alcohol-seeking behavior in rats is described.

Environmental contexts in which drugs of abuse are consumed can trigger craving, a subjective Pavlovian-conditioned response that can facilitate ...

Community-based Adapted Tango Dancing for Individuals with Parkinson's Disease and Older Adults

Adapted tango dancing improves mobility and balance in older adults and additional populations with balance impairments. It is composed of very simple step elements. Adapted tango involves movement initiation and cessation, multi-directional perturbations, varied speeds and rhythms. Focus on foot placement, whole body coordination, and attention to partner, path of movement, and aesthetics likely underlie adapted tango&#8217;s demonstrated efficacy for improving mobility and balance. In this paper, we describe the methodology to disseminate the adapted tango teaching methods to dance instructor trainees and to implement the adapted tango by the trainees in the community for older adults and individuals with Parkinson&#8217;s Disease (PD). Efficacy in improving mobility (measured with the Timed Up and Go, Tandem stance, Berg Balance Scale, Gait Speed and 30 sec chair stand), safety and fidelity of the program is maximized through targeted instructor and volunteer training and a structured detailed syllabus outlining class practices and progression.

Adapted tango has demonstrated efficacy for improving mobility and balance. We describe the dissemination of adapted tango teaching methods to dance instructor trainees and the implementation of adapted tango by the trainees in the community for improving mobility and balance in older adults and individuals with Parkinson&#8217;s disease.

Adapted tango dancing improves mobility and balance in older adults and additional populations with balance impairments. It is composed of very simple ...

Asymmetric Walkway: A Novel Behavioral Assay for Studying Asymmetric Locomotion

Behavioral assays are commonly used for the assessment of sensorimotor impairment in the central nervous system (CNS). The most sophisticated methods for quantifying locomotor deficits in rodents is to measure minute disturbances of unconstrained gait overground (e.g., manual BBB score or automated CatWalk). However, cortical inputs are not required for the generation of basic locomotion produced by the spinal central pattern generator (CPG). Thus, unconstrained walking tasks test locomotor deficits due to motor cortical impairment only indirectly. In this study, we propose a novel, precise foot-placement locomotor task that evaluates cortical inputs to the spinal CPG. An instrumented peg-way was used to impose symmetrical and asymmetrical locomotor tasks mimicking lateralized movement deficits. We demonstrate that shifts from equidistant inter-stride lengths of 20% produce changes in the forelimb stance phase characteristics during locomotion with preferred stride length. Furthermore, we propose that the asymmetric walkway allows for measurements of behavioral outcomes produced by cortical control signals. These measures are relevant for the assessment of impairment after cortical damage.

Here, we present a protocol to quantify precise stepping in rodents. Cortical and the spinal central pattern generator signals are required for precise foot-placement during obstructed locomotion. We report here the novel constrained walking task that directly examines precise stepping behavior.

Behavioral assays are commonly used for the assessment of sensorimotor impairment in the central nervous system (CNS). The most sophisticated methods for ...

Battery of Behavioral Tests Assessing General Locomotion, Muscular Strength, and Coordination in Mice

Behavioral testing is used in pre-clinical trials to assess the phenotypic effects and outcomes that a particular disease or treatment has on the animal&#39;s wellbeing and health. There are numerous behavioral tests that may be applied. We selected a test for general locomotion, the open field test (OFT); a test for muscular strength, the mesh test (MT); and a test for coordination, the rotarod test (RR). Testing can be accomplished on a weekly or monthly basis. As a test for general locomotion, the OFT works by objectively monitoring movement parameters while the mouse is in an open field apparatus. The field is generally a 2&#39; x 2&#39; box, and the movements are recorded through laser sensing or through video capture. The mouse is placed in the center of the open field and allowed to move freely for the test. The MT uses the latency for a mouse to fall off an inverted screen as a measure of muscular strength. A mouse is placed on a screen, which is inverted over a clear box, and is timed for their latency to fall. Three trials are performed, with the best of the three trials scored for that day. A score of 60 s is the maximum time a mouse is left inverted. Mice are given a 5-min rest period between mesh test trials. Lastly, an accelerated protocol on the RR assesses motor coordination and endurance. During a trial, a mouse walks on a rotating rod as it increases in speed from 4 rpm to 40 rpm over 5 min. The trial ends when the mouse touches the magnetized pressure sensor upon falling. Each mouse undergoes three trials, and the best trial is scored for that day. This combined behavioral data allows for the global assessment of mobility, coordination, strength, and movement of the test animals. At least two out of the three behavioral testing measures must show improvement for an animal to qualify as having overall improved motor function.

Behavioral testing is used in pre-clinical trials to assess the phenotypic effects of a disease or treatment on an animal's wellbeing. In order to globally assess motor functioning, we selected tests for general locomotion, muscular strength, and coordination: the open field test, the mesh test, and the rotarod test, respectively.

Behavioral testing is used in pre-clinical trials to assess the phenotypic effects and outcomes that a particular disease or treatment has on the ...

Detecting Behavioral Deficits in Rats After Traumatic Brain Injury

With the increasing incidence of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in both civilian and military populations, TBI is now considered a chronic disease; however, few studies have investigated the long-term effects of injury in rodent models of TBI. Shown here are behavioral measures that are well-established in TBI research for times early after injury, such as two weeks, until two months. Some of these methods have previously been used at later times after injury, up to one year, but by very few laboratories. The methods demonstrated here are a short neurological assessment to test reflexes, a Beam-Balance to test balance, a Beam-Walk to test balance and motor coordination, and a working memory version of the Morris water maze that can be sensitive to deficits in reference memory. Male rats were handled and pre-trained to neurological, balance, and motor coordination tests prior to receiving parasagittal fluid percussion injury (FPI) or sham injury. Rats can be tested on the short neurological assessment (neuroscore), the beam-balance, and the Beam-Walk multiple times, while testing on the water maze can only be done once. This difference is because rats can remember the task, thus confounding the results if repeated testing is attempted in the same animal. When testing from one to three days after injury, significant differences are detected in all three non-cognitive tasks. However, differences in the Beam-Walk task were not detectable at later time points (after 3 months). Deficits were detected at 3 months in the Beam-Balance and at 6 months in the neuroscore. Deficits in working memory were detected out to 12 months after injury, and a deficit in a reference memory first appeared at 12 months. Thus, standard behavioral tests can be useful measures of persistent behavioral deficits after FPI.

The goal of the behavioral tests presented here is to detect functional deficits in rats after traumatic brain injury. Four specific tests are presented that detect deficits in behaviors to reflect the damage to specific brain areas at times extending to one year after injury.

With the increasing incidence of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in both civilian and military populations, TBI is now considered a chronic disease; however, ...

Automated, Long-term Behavioral Assay for Cognitive Functions in Multiple Genetic Models of Alzheimer's Disease, Using IntelliCage

Multiple factors&#8212;such as aging and genes&#8212;are frequently associated with cognitive decline. Genetically modified mouse models of cognitive decline, such as Alzheimer&#39;s disease (AD), have become a promising tool to elucidate the underlying mechanisms and promote the therapeutic advances. An important step is the validation and characterization of expected behavioral abnormality in the models, in the case of AD, cognitive decline. The long-term behavioral investigations of laboratory animals to study the effect of aging demand substantial efforts from researchers. The IntelliCage system is a high-throughput and cost-effective test battery for mice that eliminates the need for daily human handling. Here, we describe how the system is utilized in the long-term phenotyping of a genetic Alzheimer&#39;s disease model, specifically focusing on the cognitive functions. The experiment employs repeated battery of tests that assess spatial learning and executive functions. This cost-effective age-dependent phenotyping allows us to identify the transient and/or permanent effects of genes on various cognitive aspects.

This paper describes a protocol for cognitive assessments for genetic models of the Alzheimer&#39;s disease using the IntelliCage system, which is a high throughput automated behavioral monitoring system with operant conditioning.

Multiple factors&#8212;such as aging and genes&#8212;are frequently associated with cognitive decline. Genetically modified mouse models of cognitive ...

A Behavioral Test Battery for the Repeated Assessment of Motor Skills, Mood, and Cognition in Mice

Pharmacological and toxicological studies in neurodegeneration require comprehensive behavioral analysis in mice because motor dysfunctions and dysfunctions in mood and cognition are common and often shared symptoms in neurodegenerative diseases. Shown here is a behavioral test battery for motor, mood, and cognition, which can be repeatedly tested in a longitudinal study. This battery assesses the overall behavioral phenotype in mice by examining each domain of behavior with at least two independent well-accepted tests (i.e., open-field test and rotarod test for motor function, social interaction test, elevated plus maze test, and forced swim test for emotional function, and Morris water maze test and novel object recognition test for cognitive function). Therefore, this sensitive and comprehensive test battery is a powerful tool for the study of behavioral alternation in neurodegeneration.

A comprehensive behavioral test battery of motor skills, mood&#8212;including social interaction, depression, and anxiety&#8212;and cognition is designed for the repeated assessment of neurodegeneration-related behavioral changes in mice.