Video-based assessments of the hind limb stepping in a mouse model of hemi-parkinsonism

Unilateral injection of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) is commonly used to generate a rodent model of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Although motor deficits of the lower extremities represent one of the major clinical symptoms in PD patients, validated tests for assessing motor impairments of the hind limb in 6-OHDA mice are currently unavailable. We here report the video-based assessments of the asymmetric use of hind limbs in 6-OHDA mice. A significantly decreased number of spontaneous hind limb stepping was observed in the contralateral-to-lesioned side, and was dose dependently reversed by levodopa, suggesting that it could be utilized for screening PD therapeutics