Motor function analysis of myelin mutant mice using a rotarod》.pdfVIP

~ler~amon Int. Z DevlNeuroscience,Vol. 13,No. 7,pp. 715-722, 1995 ElsevierScienceLtd ISDN Printedin GreatBritain 0736-5748/95$9.50+0.00 MOTOR FUNCTION ANALYSIS OF MYELIN MUTANT MICE USING A R O T A R O D P. L. KUHN,*t~t E. P E T R O U L A K I S , t G. A. ZAZANIS~ and R. D. M c K I N N O N § ? *Department of Psychology,California State University, Chico, CA 95927,U.S.A, ~Department of Surgery, Division of Neurosurgery, UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, 675 Hoes Lane. Piscataway, NJ 08854,U.S.A. (Received 12April 1995;revised 15May 1995;accepted 17May 1995) Abstmcl--We have examined motor control in normal and shiverer mutant mice using the rotarod assay, a forced motor activity which tests for balance and co-ordination. Shiverer mice carry a deletion of the myelinbasic protein (MBP) gene, resulting in CNS dysmyelinationand characteristicmotor dysfunction. Homozygous mutant mice had a significant increase in cumulative falls from the rotarod relative to heterozygous mice. Non-acclimated animals of both genotypes showed progressive improvement in performance when tested on successivedays. The rotarod test also discriminated shiverer mutants from