Assessment of Cognitive and Sensorimotor Defi cits - Animal Models of Acute Neurological Injuries: Injury and Mechanistic Assessments - page 226

of the model, a subset of the tests may provide an effi cient battery
for therapeutic studies using that model. Finally, note that although
all of the tests described can be used with either mice or rats, mice
are not simply small rats. See Crawley's excellent topic ( 1 ) for a
broader discussion of these issues.

2. Materials

All of the tests require some method of taking notes and collecting
data in real time. Whether the experimenter chooses pen and paper
or a computer-based entry system depends on budget and conve-
nience. Most of the tests also require a stopwatch. The activity and
water maze tests require an overhead-mounted video camera (an
inexpensive black and white security camera is suffi cient). For most
of the other tests, recording with a video camera (mounted either
overhead or horizontally) can be helpful for scoring purposes, but
is not absolutely necessary. Additionally, a computerized video
tracking system (e.g., Noldus Ethovision) is extremely helpful
(albeit expensive) for several of the tests (activity, water maze, zero
maze, forced swim, tail suspension) but not absolutely necessary.
Note that several pieces of equipment can be built rather than pur-
chased (anything made from wood should be sealed and water-
proof for easy cleaning), and that following the exact dimensions
specifi ed in this chapter is not necessary as long as consistency is
maintained within and across experiments. Finally, a spray bottle of
ethanol is ideal for cleaning feces and urine from equipment after
each trial.

1. Eye blink: Cotton swab.
2. Righting ability: Flat surface.
3. Beam balance: A piece of thick plastic sheeting is mounted ver-
tically in a base placed on a padded surface to form a balance
beam (~80 cm long × 80 cm high, and ¼″ wide for mice and
young rats, ½″ wide for adult rats). The edge near the top is
marked in increments of 1 cm and labeled with a number line
in which 0 is the exact middle of the beam (for recording the
distance traveled as the animal walks along the beam).
4. Footfall: For mice and young rats, a grid of 19-gauge (~1 mm)
galvanized wire mesh with a 1/2″ grid spacing is mounted to
a 100-cm long × 70-cm wide frame and elevated horizontally
100 cm from the fl oor. For adult rats, a 100-cm long × 35-cm
wide section of wire shelving with a 1″ spacing is elevated
horizontally 100 cm from the fl oor.

2.1. Day 1 (See Fig. 1 ):
Eye Blink, Righting
Ability, Beam Balance,
Footfall, Inclined
Plane, Wire Hang,
Adhesive Tape
Removal, Cylinder Test
(See Note 1)