Assessment of Cognitive and Sensorimotor Defi cits - Animal Models of Acute Neurological Injuries: Injury and Mechanistic Assessments - page 235

6. Wire hang

Procedure . If using a video camera to assist with offl ine
scoring, start the recording. Hold the animal with its fore-
limbs in front of the wire and allow it to grip the wire.
Once it has grasped the wire, release it and start the
stopwatch.

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Variables measured . Latency to fall (60 s maximum).

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● Data interpretation . Performance on this test represents
motivation to hang on and forelimb grip strength.
7. Adhesive tape removal

Procedure . If using a video camera to assist with offl ine
scoring, start the recording. While holding the animal very
still, place the appropriate piece of tape (blue for left and
red for right) over the three pads of each forelimb paw.
Counterbalance the left/right placement order across
groups and trials. After each piece of tape is placed, put the
animal into the holding cage and start the stopwatch.

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Variables measured . Latency to react to each paw's piece of
tape (e.g., shaking the paw or attempting to remove the
tape with its mouth or other paw) and latency to remove
each paw's piece of tape (120 s maximum).

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● Data interpretation . Performance on this test represents
somatosensory function and fi ne motor skills.
8. Cylinder test

Procedure . If using a video camera to assist with offl ine
scoring, start the recording. Place the animal into the
cylinder and start the stopwatch.

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Variables measured . Record the number of times each fore-
limb paw is placed on the glass wall as the animal rears up
to feel its way around the cylinder over a 1-min period.

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Data interpretation . This test is most often used for assess-
ing unilateral models of brain injury by determining
whether one paw is favored (i.e., relied upon for feeling its
way around the wall) over the other.

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3.2. Day 2 (See Note 2):
Activity Levels

1. Procedure . Start the video recording and place each animal into
its own container for a period of 30 min.
2. Variables measured . Total distance moved, percent time spent
moving, percent time spent in center of container, percent
time huddled in corners, number of rearings, and number of
feces droppings.
3. Data interpretation . Data is analyzed over time in ten bins
of 3 min each. Control animals will generally explore and
move around quite a lot at first, and gradually taper off to