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Updated: Jul 5, 2026
The 6-hydroxydopamine Rat Model of Parkinson's Disease
Published on: October 27, 2021
[Behavioral evaluation of the unilateral lesion model in rats using 6-hydroxydopamine. Correlation between the
1Centro Internacional de Restauración Neurológica, CIREN, La Habana, Cuba.
Introduction:
Evaluation of rotatory activity induced by dopaminergic agonists is the most widely used test of conduct for the measurement of dopaminergic depletion of a unilateral lesion of the striatonigral pathway caused by 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) in rats, since it is quantitatively related to the extension of the dopaminergic denervation.
Objective:
The objective of this study was to evaluate, from different angles, the changes in conduct seen in the model of unilateral lesion with 6-OHDA and to establish correlation with the rotation induced by D-amphetamine and by apomorphine and the ladder test.
Material And Methods:
Male Wistar rats were used. Lesions were produced in the SNpc by stereotactic injection of 6-OHDA into the right hemisphere and the effectiveness of the lesions was studied using the rotary conduct induced by D-amphetamine and apomorphine. The motor ability of the front legs was measured by the ladder test, carried out under standard and forced conditions.
Results:
All the animals with lesions had difficulty in reaching food with both legs, although the most pronounced deficit was in the leg contralateral to the lesion. The ladder test correlated better with rotatory activity induced by apomorphine than by D-amphetamine.
Conclusion:
The animals with most dopamine loss showed most deficient use of their front legs.
