2.11.5 Beam walk test

A beam walk test was performed to assess fine motor coordination skills and balancing capabilities. Mice were placed on a 10 mm wide × 70 cm long elevated beam. One end of the beam is mounted to a small illuminated platform and the opposite end to a 20 cm² goal box. Mice were trained for 2 days (6 trials per day) to walk to the goal box. On the third day, the time each mouse took to reach the goal box, the time mice spent idling (immobile) at the start position on the beam and the number of left and right hindpaw slips were recorded. A maximum of 120 s was given for the mice to reach the goal box. Falls from the beam were recorded as 120 s. Each mouse performed 3 trials. Data were presented as the average of 3 replicates.