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| Rodent Motility
StairCase Test
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Model
80300 Rat Motility StairCase Test
Model
80301 Mouse Motility StairCase Test
The staircase apparatus provides a simple,
efficient and easy way to quantify the testing of
skilled paw reaching for both the rat and the mouse. Two
food pellets are placed onto each step of two staircases
located one on either side of a central plinth. The
animals are placed in a box relevant to their size and
can reach down either side of a plinth to grasp, lift
and retrieve food pellets from the steps of the
staircase. The numbers of pellets removed provides a
quantifiable measure of the distance and efficiency of
reaching skill.
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The design allows separate
measurements of reaching capacity with the left and
right paws, and does not require any constraint or
restriction of the contralateral limb to measure
performance on the two sides separately. The test is
sensitive to unilateral lesions of the striatum,
forebrain dopamine systems and sensorimotor cortex, as
well as focal ischaemia.
The
specifications of our StairCase have been determined
through extensive trials. These specifications are set
to ensure good reaching and grasping motion and to
minimize the spillage of pellets. These specifications
affect the stair height and the size and depth of the
well, which is critical to the efficacy of the test.
Using a rat model of 150 grams to 250 grams, we have
set the StairCase dimensions to ensure the animal
cannot turn around once it has entered the test area.
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| Animals must make a coordinated
reach and grasp to retrieve a pellet.
They cannot simply scoop up pellets,
which can confound the interpretation of
results when measuring reaching into
tubes. The numbers of pellets removed and
the number of pellets knocked down to
lower steps provide separate measures of
how far the animal can reach, and from
how far it can make a coordinated reach,
grasp and retrieval of the pellet. For
example, striatal lesions have less
effect on the actual distance of reaching
than on the animal’s ability to make
a skilled grasp and retrieval.
This test provides an objective
quantification of reaching, measured
simply in terms of numbers of pellets
displaced and retrieved. It does not
require observer ratings of numbers of
reaching attempts, success or efficiency.
The staircase test has been adopted by
several groups investigating the effects
of unilateral lesions in the basal
ganglia and motor systems of the brain
because it is sensitive to the effects of
drugs and grafts.
*
Visit the web site of Dr. Dunnett (the Scientist
who developed the Rodent Motility Staircase) at:
http://www.cf.ac.uk/biosi/staff/dunnett/stairtxt.html
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