Work cited:
Barry M (2020). "Rotational Behavior During the Pole Test: A Novel Behavioral Assay in a Mouse Model of Parkinson's Disease." Undergraduate Research Scholar Thesis, Texas A&M University.
Summary:
Present study utilizes behavioral assay in which rotational behavior is induced during a motor task without the need for additonal drugs. 6-OHDA was injected into the dorsolateral striatum of either sham-operated or ovariectomized female mice, and these mice were required to turn and descend down a 2-foot pole. Trials were conducted at 5 time points--2 prior to injection, 3 following--and each point was at least 1 week apart. Results showed that 6-OHDA significantly increased the number of rotations in both ovariectomized and sham-operated female mice without the use of any additional drug. Data suggests that spontaneous rotations while performing a specialized task-like descent down a 2 foot pole-can be utilized for discovery of pre-clinical neuroprotective drugs to treat Parkinson's disease.
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Work cited:
Matsuura K, Kabuto H, Makino H, Ogawa N (1997). "Pole test is a useful method for evaluating the mouse movement disorder caused by striatal dopamine depletion." Journal of Neuroscience Methods, 73 (1), 45-48.
Summary:
Present study evaluated behavioral recovery of mice with 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-induced lesions using a pole test. Locomotor activity time 1,2, and 3 days after intracerebroventricular 6-OHDA injection was correlated significantly with levels of dopamine, dihydroxyphenylactic acid, and homovanillic acid in the striatum 7 days after injection of 6-OHDA, but 5-hydroxyindoleactic acid and serotonin had no correlation with locomotor activity. Results show that presynaptic neuroadaptations and behavioral recovery exist in this animal model. Data suggests that the pole test can be utilized to predict the extent of the lesion to select a mouse in which the receptive fields of the dopaminergic cells are denervated.
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Work cited:
Chen W, Xia M, Guo C, Jia Z, Wang J, Li C, Li M, Tang X, Hu R, Chen Y, Liu X, Feng H (2019). "Modified behavioral tests to detect white matter injury-induced motor deficits after intracerebral haemorrhage in mice." Scientific Reports, NatureResearch.
Summary:
Present study implements a series of behavioral tests to detect motor deficits in mice after Intracerebral Haemorrhage. Results showed that the grip strength test and the modified pole test can distinguish the degree of motor dysfunction between different volumes of blood ICH models, as well as the severity of white matter injury characterized by demyelination, axonal swelling, and the latency of motor-evoked potential delay induced by ICH. After ICH, the results of the grip tests and modified pole tests were worse than observed after intraventricular haemmorhage, which was used as a model of brain bleeding in non-white matter areas. These results indicate that grip strength tests and the modified pole tests have advantages in detecting the degree of motor deficit induced by white matter injury after ICH in mice.
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The pole test is used as a behavioral test to demonstrate motor deficits. Mice move down a vertical pole to test their brain function. I think this test is a good measure of motor function, especially after lesions or drug injection to test if motor function remains the same as pre-testing. Confounding variables could be pre-existing, unknown motor deficits.
I like the variability of this test, since it can be applied as a measure of motor deficit in many experiments.