Jun 01, 2026
- Amandine EVEN1,2,3,4,5,
- Sriparna Mukherjee1,2,3,5,
- Louis-Eric Trudeau1,2,3,5,6,4
- 1Department of pharmacology and physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal;
- 2Neural Signaling and Circuitry research group (SNC);
- 3Center for Interdisciplinary Research on the Brain and Learning (CIRCA);
- 4Institut Courtois d’innovation biomédicale;
- 5Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s (ASAP) Collaborative Research Network, Chevy Chase, MD, 20815;
- 6Department of Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal
Protocol Citation: Amandine EVEN, Sriparna Mukherjee, Louis-Eric Trudeau 2026. Pole test. protocols.io https://dx.doi.org/10.17504/protocols.io.e6nvwwndwvmk/v1
License: This is an open access protocol distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited
Protocol status: Working
We use this protocol and it's working
Created: March 29, 2026
Last Modified: June 01, 2026
Protocol Integer ID: 314086
Keywords: general motor function in mice, pole test, assessing general motor function, pole test this protocol, mice, animal preparation
Funders Acknowledgements:
Aligning Science Across Parkinson's
Grant ID: ASAP-000525
Abstract
This protocol describes the pole test for assessing general motor function in mice, including animal preparation, trial execution, and data analysis.
Materials
For the experiment:
- A cage filled with sawdust
- A homemade 48 cm height metal rod of 1 cm diameter, covered with parafilm to facilitate traction, and with red adhesive tape to facilitate the placement of the mice.
- A camera on a rack, connected to a computer.
- The Capture Software (RRID:SCR_016047)
For the analysis:
- A media player as VLC
Before start
If experiment is done during the dark cycle, it is preferable to start the behaviour work at least one hour after the light-dark cycle change.
Acclimatation
1h
Mice are acclimated in the room 01:00:00 before the experiment.
1h
Trial
35m 30s
To assess their general motor functions, mice were tested on a pole test for 3 trials:
Start recording with the camera using the Capture software (RRID:SCR_016047, version 2.4), 60 FPS.
10s
The mouse is acclimated to the cage for approximately 00:00:20 .
20s
Place the mouse on the pole: Hold the mouse on the surface of your hand and bring it up to the top of the pole. Position the mouse head-up at the top of the pole.
The time required for the mouse to descend to the floor level is recorded, with a maximum duration of 120s.
3m
Once testing is completed, place the mouse back into its home cage and clean the metal
rod before testing the next mouse.
5m
Repeat 3 times, each trial separated by 00:10:00 of resting.
27m
Analysis
The analysis is done with a media video player:
Note the time required for the mouse to turn: from the moment the mouse is alone on the pole until the moment the mouse is completely turned around.
Note the time necessary for the mouse to climb down completely: from the moment the mouse is completely turned around until the moment both front paws touch the ground.
Protocol references