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Behavioral Assessment of Vestibular Dysfunction in Rats

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Experimental Neurotoxicology Methods

Part of the book series: Neuromethods ((NM,volume 172))

Abstract

Rodents with toxic lesions in the vestibular system display abnormalities in spontaneous and reflex behaviors that are easily recognized by knowledgeable observers. However, a quantitative assessment of the functional deficit is necessary in addition to its simple identification. In this chapter, we describe a semi-quantitative behavioral test battery that our laboratory has successfully used for almost three decades to evaluate vestibular toxicity in rats. We also describe a method recently developed for the same purpose. Using high-speed video recording, the minimum angle formed by the nose, the back of the neck, and the base of the tail during the tail-lift reflex is obtained as a fully objective and quantitative measure of vestibular function. Data collected on the same animals show high correlation values between the test battery scores and the tail-lift angles.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by grants RTI2018-096452-B-I00 (Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, Agencia Estatal de Investigación, Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional, MCIU/AEI/FEDER, UE), and 2017 SGR 621 (Agència de Gestió d’Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca, Generalitat de Catalunya). We thank former undergraduate and master students of the laboratory Sílvia Prades, Adrià Ricarte, Anna Bellmunt, and Vanessa Martins-Lopes for their contributions to the development of the tail-lift test.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departament de Ciències Fisiològiques, Institut de Neurociènces, Universitat de Barcelona, Hospitalet de Llobregat, Catalunya, Spain

    Alberto F. Maroto, Erin A. Greguske & Jordi Llorens

  2. Institut d’Investigació Biomèdica de Bellvitge, IDIBELL, Hospitalet de Llobregat, Catalunya, Spain

    Erin A. Greguske & Jordi Llorens

  3. Research Group of Clinical Anatomy, Embryology and Neuroscience (NEOMA), Departament de Ciències Mèdiques, Facultat de Medicina, Universitat de Girona, Girona, Catalunya, Spain

    Meritxell Deulofeu & Pere Boadas-Vaello

  4. Institut d’Investigacio Biomèdica de Bellvitge, IDIBELL, Hospitalet de Llobregat, Catalunya, Spain

    Alberto F. Maroto

Authors
  1. Alberto F. Maroto
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  2. Erin A. Greguske
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  3. Meritxell Deulofeu
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  4. Pere Boadas-Vaello
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  5. Jordi Llorens
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jordi Llorens .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Departament de Ciències Fisiològiques, Institut de Neurociènces, Universitat de Barcelona, Hospitalet de Llobregat, Catalunya, Spain

    Jordi Llorens

  2. Departament de Farmacologia, Toxicologia i Química Terapèutica, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain

    Marta Barenys

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Maroto, A.F., Greguske, E.A., Deulofeu, M., Boadas-Vaello, P., Llorens, J. (2021). Behavioral Assessment of Vestibular Dysfunction in Rats. In: Llorens, J., Barenys, M. (eds) Experimental Neurotoxicology Methods. Neuromethods, vol 172. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-1637-6_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-1637-6_9

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  • Publisher Name: Humana, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-0716-1636-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-0716-1637-6

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