Hanging wire test.

The hanging wire test allows for the assessment of grip strength and motor coordination ^161,162. Mice were held so that only their forelimbs contact an elevated metal bar (2 mm diameter, 45 cm long, 37 cm above the floor) held parallel to the table by a large ring stand and let go to hang. Each mouse was given three trials separated by 30 seconds. Each trial was scored as follows and the average for each mouse was calculated: 0 — fell off, 1 — hung onto the wire by two forepaws, 2 — hung onto the wire by two forepaws, but also attempted to climb onto the wire, 3 — hung onto the wire by two forepaws plus one or both hindpaws around the wire, 4 — hung onto the wire by all four paws plus tail wrapped, 5 — escaped (crawled to the ring stand and righted itself or climbed down the stand to the table). Latency to falling off was also measured up to a maximum of 30 s.