Deficits in fine motor coordination can be assessed with the balance beam test. Performance on the beam is quantified by the speed at which the beam is traversed and the number of times the mouse slips on the beam.
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Method Article
Assessment of Motor Balance and Coordination in Mice using the Balance Beam
* These authors contributed equally
In This Article
Summary
Abstract
Brain injury, genetic manipulations, and pharmacological treatments can result in alterations of motor skills in mice. Fine motor coordination and balance can be assessed by the beam walking assay. The goal of this test is for the mouse to stay upright and walk across an elevated narrow beam to a safe platform. This test takes place over 3 consecutive days: 2 days of training and 1 day of testing. Performance on the beam is quantified by measuring the time it takes for the mouse to traverse the beam and the number of paw slips that occur in the process. Here we report the protocol used in our laboratory, and representative results from a cohort of C57BL/6 mice. This task is particularly useful for detecting subtle deficits in motor skills and balance that may not be detected by other motor tests, such as the Rotarod.
Protocol
1. This Protocol is Based on Those of Southwell et. al. (2009) and Carter et. al. (2001).
- The beam apparatus consists of 1 meter beams with a flat surface of 12 mm or 6 mm width) resting 50 cm above the table top on two poles. A black box is placed at the end of the beam as the finish point. (Plywood and other types of wood for the beams, poles, and box can be found at most hardware stores). Nesting material from home cages is placed in the black box to attract the mouse to the finish point. A lamp (with 60 watt light bulb) is used to shine light above the start point and serves as an aversive stimulus. The time to cross the center 8....
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Discussion
Performance on the balance beam is a useful measure of fine coordination and balance and has been validated by previous work. The beam test can detect motor deficits due to age, central nervous syst` lesions, and genetic and pharmacological manipulations in young and older rodents2,3,4. Mice with cortical impact lesions often exhibit contralateral slipping on the beam5,6. The beam test has also been used to differentiate the motor skills of wild-type (WT) and Huntington disease (HD) mouse models .......
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Disclosures
Experiments on animals were performed in accordance with the guidelines and regulations set forth by the Caltech Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC).
Acknowledgements
Amber Southwell set up the apparatus and trained the authors in its use. Funding was provided by a grant from the NINDS to Paul Patterson.
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Materials
| Name | Company | Catalog Number | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beams: 1-m strips of smooth wood with small, medium, and large square (i.e., 6, 12, and 28 mm wide) cross-sections | |||
| Support stand to hold up the start section of the raised beam (∼1.5-cm cross-section, 50 cm high) | |||
| Goal box (20 cm on each side) mounted on a support stand (3 cm cross-section, 50 cm high) | |||
| Hammock-∼7.5 cm above tabletop | |||
| 60-watt (W) desk lamp | |||
| Video camera, tripod, and blank video tapes | |||
| Ethanol, paper towels, cleaning materials |
References
- Feeney, D. M., Gonzalez, A., Law, W. A. Amphetamine, haloperidol, and experience interact to affect rate of recovery after motor cortex injury. Science. 217, 855-857 (1982).
- Carter, R. J., Morton, J., Dunnett, S. B. Motor coordination and balance in rodents. ....
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