RotaRod for Mice and Rats

The Ugo Basile RotaRod is the 1st and original, invented after the Dunham and Miya method (1957) and today has more than 7,000 citations in the literature. Ugo Basile RotaRod comes in a mouse 5-lane version, in a Rat 4-lane version and in a “Large Rat” version, plus Rod Adapters to enlarge the diameter of the rod and Complex Wheels to add a complexity element for the animal to be tested.
As the inventor of the RotaRod, we continue to improve our best-selling and gold standard device for motor function and coordination by developing new accessories and technologies to change the complexity and increase the sensitivity of the experiment.
Want to increase RotaRod test sensitivity? Discover more about the new Complex Wheel for Mouse and Rat RotaRod.
nt to add multiple parameters to change the complexity of your RotaRod experiment? Discover more about RotaRod Enlargers for Mouse, Rat and Large Rat

Background

The rotarod test, invented by Dunham and Miya (1957) and transformed into a science-grade device by Ugo Basile, is one of the oldest used in assessing the effects of a drug on animal behavior. Today it is obviously used in phenotyping and not only in drug screening.
Drugs (e.g. benzodiazepines) or specific phenotypes alter neuromuscular coordination and hence the time that the mouse or rat remains on the rotating rod.
Multiple animals can be tested at the same time and several protocols exist to train and assess the motory coordination through the falling time.
The output results include for each lane:

• Time elapsed
• Revolutions
• Distance
• Speed
• Rotating mode

System components and main features

• The Ugo Basile RotaRod comes complete with:
  • An electronic unit with touch screen to set all parameters and save data
  • USB port to save data and export them in CSV files
  • A PC software to build custom rotation ramps and populate your animal vivarium
• Additional features include:
  • TTL input/outputs for trip box status and start/stop of the test
  • COM port for maintenance purposes
  • Ethernet port for support and maintenance (to be used at the factory only)

Features & Benefits

Application

The RotaRod test is commonly used in combination with other motor tests, such as grip strength and hanging test to measure, motor function, coordination and balance.
The test starts with a training trial with the animals placed on the rod rotating at the lowest speed. A time threshold (e.g. 1 minute) is set, below which the animal is immediately put back on the RotaRod until it stays on the rod for the threshold time.
After training, the real trials start and the latency to fall as well as the other parameters (see above) are recorded.
The classic test was run at constant speed, but already in the ‘60s (Jones and Roberts, 1968), the advantages of using accelerating modes were shown, such as training reduction, increased sensitivity and statistical significance improvement.
The test is used to test motor deficits in the most common animal models of Parkinson’s, ALS, Huntington’s disease, multiple sclerosis, brain injury and all models where motor coordination and function is to be investigated.

Ordering Information

Main References

W. Dunham, T. S. Miya, 1957, “A note on a simple apparatus for detecting neurological deficit in rats and mice“, PubMe
J. Jones, D. J. Roberts, 1968, “The quantitative measurement of motor inco-ordination in naive mice using an accelerating rotarod“, Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology

Mouse
Kang, B. et al. (2025) ‘Acoustofluidic bioassembly induced morphogenesis for therapeutic tissue fabrication,’ Nature Communications
Dietz, A. G. et al (2023) “Local extracellular K+ in cortex regulates *orepinephrin* levels, network state, and behavioral output”, PNAS
Victorelli, S. et al. (2023), “Apoptotic stress causes mtDNA release during senescence and drives the SASP”, Nature
Ang, S. J.  et al (2022), “Muscle 4EBP1 activation modifies the structure and function of the neuromuscular junction in mice”, Nature Communications
Valassina, N. et al. (2022), “Scn1a gene reactivation after symptom onset rescues pathological phenotypes in a mouse model of Dravet syndrome”, Nature Communication
Ji, H. et al. (2022), “A Mouse Model of Cancer Induced Bone Pain: From Pain to Movement“, Front Behav Neurosci.
Möller, M. et al. (2022) “The Role of AlphαSynuclein in Mouse Models of Acute, Inflammatory and Neuropathic Pain“, Cells
Forner, S. et al. (2021), “Systematic phenotyping and characterization of the 5xFAD mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease“, Nature
von Collenberg, C. R. et al. (2020), “Correction: An essential role of the mouse synapse-associated protein Syap1 in circuits for spontaneous motor activity and rotarod balance“, Biol Open.

Rat
Awad-Igbaria et al., 2025, “Novel insight into TRPV1-induced mitochondrial dysfunction in neuropathic pain”, Brain
Hara, K. et al. (2022), “Verbascoside administered intrathecally attenuates hyperalgesia via activating mu-opioid receptors in a rat chronic constriction injury model”, European Journal of Pain
Kimura, M. et al. (2020), “Antinociceptive effect of selective G protein-gated inwardly rectifying K⁺ channel agonist ML297 in the rat spinal cord”, Plos One
Haranishi, Y. et al. (2020), “Antihyperalgesic effects of intrathecal perospirone in a rat model of neuropathic pain”, Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behaviour
Chen, L. et al. (2014), “Liquiritigeni* alleviates mechanical and cold hyperalgesia in a rat neuropathic pain model”, Scientific Reports
Joseph, E.K. et al. (2008), “Oxaliplati* Acts on IB4-Positive Nociceptors to Induce an Oxidative Stress-Dependent Acute Painful Peripheral Neuropathy”, The Journal of Pain
Kesingland, A.C. et al. (2000), “Analgesic profile of the nicotini* acetylcholin* receptor agonists, (+)-epibatidin* and ABT-594 in models of persistent inflammatory and neuropathic pain”, Pain