The rotating 6-hydroxydopamine-lesioned mouse as a model for assessing functional effects of neuronal grafting

Mice were first administered intrastriatal injections of 6-hydroxydopamine and subsequently a sub-group was given neural cell suspension grafts prepared from 14-day-old fetal ventral mesencephalic mouse tissue. Six and 8 weeks after transplantation the mice in the grafted group exhibited a significant reduction in amphetamine-induced turning behaviour towards the lesioned side compared to non-grafted lesioned controls. Six of the 7 mice that had surviving grafts containing histofluorescent dopamine neurons eventually showed a reversed motor side bias with more amphetamine-induced turning in a direction away from the transplant.