Staircase Test for Motor Function Assessment in a Hemiparkinsonian Rat

Abstract

Source: Rattka, M, et al., A Novel Approach to Assess Motor Outcome of Deep Brain Stimulation Effects in the Hemiparkinsonian Rat: Staircase and Cylinder Test. J. Vis. Exp. (2016).

This video demonstrates the staircase test to assess motor function in a hemiparkinsonian rat with a right brain lesion. The lesion disrupts dopamine signaling, impairing left paw control, which results in more pellets remaining on the left stairs, indicating motor dysfunction.

Protocol

All procedures involving animal models have been reviewed by the local institutional animal care committee and the JoVE veterinary review board.

1. Staircase Test (Figure 1)

1. Acquisition Phase​
   1. One day prior to the training familiarize the animals with the pellets used in the Staircase test.
      1. Optional: To increase the animal's motivation use a dietary restriction (10-15 g of standard laboratory chow to maintain body weight at 90% of the free feeding level). However, this is not obligatory to achieve a positive training effect. This study was conducted without food r....

Results

Figure 1: Staircase test setup. The staircase box arranged with pellets on the left staircase. (A) side view, (B) view from above.

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
Staircase box witout lid	Glas Keil, Germany		custom made
Dustless precision pellets, 45 mg	Bio Serv	F0021