Before subjecting the mouse to the ladder beam test, perform an initial habituation training on the completely assembled ladder beam test apparatus. To do so, place the mouse at the edge of the ladder designated as the starting point. Using an air puff, encourage the mouse to move forward on the ladder rung towards the goal.
Repeat the training until the mouse gets habituated to walk on the ladder rungs. To perform the motor performance test, place the already habituated mouse at the starting point. Record the time the animal takes to cross the ladder, and count the number of foot slips occurring when the mouse fails to place its paws or slips after placing paws on the aluminum sticks.
Calculate the average value of time and foot slips per day, and compare the average values between the different animal groups. Both horizontal and zigzag ladder beam tests detected robust impairment in motor coordination in MF-1 mice. They spent a significantly longer time crossing the ladder, as well as made more foot slips when compared to wildtype mice.
More importantly, the scores did not improve after three days in MF-1 mice, whereas wildtype mice showed improvement in that period. There was no change in grip strength between wildtype and MF-1 mice.
