The micro processor controlled Rota Rod for mice features a front
panel with a large, very readable back-light display. The panel can be
oriented to select the most comfortable angle for the operator, to
avoid glare, etc.
This Mouse Rota Rod has two operating modes:
Constant Speed Mode – where the angular speed (RPM) is preset by
the operator, in the range between 4 and 50 rotations per minute.
Accelerating Speed Mode - where the operator presets both the
duration and the steepness of the ramp, e.g., 4 minutes to pass from
4 to 40 RPM, 5 minutes to pass from 6 to 30 RPM, etc.
The display shows the actual angular speed (RMS at each instant) in
real time. It also shows the endurance time of each animal and the
speed at which the animal looses its grip and falls.
The data of each experiment can be stored or routed in real time to
the PC.
This Rota-Rod operates under the same principle as the Constant
Speed Rota-Rod Treadmill but with an added Acceleration feature.
The “Rota-Rod” technique has been originated by a 1957 paper of
N.W Dunham and T.S Miya and has proved to be of great value in
research involving screening of drugs which are potentially active on
motor coordination.
These Rota-Rods are the result of many years of research in cooperation
with the latest development in behavioral and pharmacological
research; they basically consist of five 3 cm diameter drums which
are suitably machined to provide grip. Six flanges divide the drums,
enabling five mice to be on the treadmill simultaneously.
By operating with animals running on an accelerating drum, screening
results are less scattered. In other words, a single “session” acts
as conditioning and training run. This model has been originated by
a paper of B.J. Jones and D.J. Roberts “The Quantitative
Measurement of Motor Inco-ordination in Naive Mice Using an
Accelerating Rotarod.”
The machine is provided with a motor drive which operates in
ACCELERATION, LOCK or RESET mode. The acceleration phase
is monitored by a bar-graph type of speed indicator, placed on the
front panel.