The rotarod test

A modification of the procedure described by Rozas was employed using a rotarod apparatus (IITC Life Science, Woodland Hills, CA, USA) [17]. In general, mice were tested on rotating rods at 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28 rpm once daily for 7 days. Duration of each speed does not exceed 150 s. The resting period was 5 min between each speed for alleviating the stress and fatigue

For the rotarod test, mice were trained before MPTP treatment at a speed of 20 rpm to obtain a stable baseline. Then, at a constant speed of 28 rpm, the time each mouse remained on the rod was recorded during a 5-min trial once daily for 7 days after completion of MPTP treatment. On each day, mean time on the rod over three individual trials was recorded, with mice allowed to recover in their home cages for at least 1 h before starting a new trial.