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Animal Models of Movement Disorders pp 267–279Cite as

6-OHDA Lesion Models of Parkinson’s Disease in the Rat

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Part of the book series: Neuromethods ((NM,volume 61))

Abstract

The 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) lesion of the rat nigrostriatal pathway is the most widely used animal model of Parkinson’s disease. 6-OHDA is a highly specific neurotoxin which targets catecholamine neurones via the dopamine active transporter (DAT). When injected stereotaxically into the brain, either into the median forebrain bundle (MFB) or into the neostriatum, it causes extensive, irreversible loss of dopamine neurones in the ventral midbrain. The corresponding loss of dopamine innervation in target areas is associated with a range of long-term, behavioural deficits that form the target of experimental therapies, aimed at protecting or restoring dopaminergic deficits. In this chapter, the two most widely used 6-OHDA lesion protocols are described: (1) The MFB lesion that results in >97% unilateral depletion of dopamine neurones, principally in the ipsilateral striatum and nucleus accumbens. (2) The unilateral striatal lesion resulting in partial dopamine denervation of the striatum only. In vivo assessment of both lesion types by drug-induced rotation is also covered.

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Acknowledgements

Our experiments in this field are supported by grants from the UK Medical Research Council, Parkinson’s UK, and the European Union Seventh Framework TransEUro, Replaces and NeuroStemCell programmes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Brain Repair Group, School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales, UK

    Eduardo M. Torres & Stephen B. Dunnett

Authors
  1. Eduardo M. Torres
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  2. Stephen B. Dunnett
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Correspondence to Eduardo M. Torres .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Welsh School of Pharmacology, Cardiff University, Edward VII Avenue, Cardiff, CF10 3NB, United Kingdom

    Emma L. Lane

  2. School of Biosciences, Brain Repair Group, Cardiff University, Museum Avenue, Cardiff, CF10 3AX, United Kingdom

    Stephen B. Dunnett

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Torres, E.M., Dunnett, S.B. (2011). 6-OHDA Lesion Models of Parkinson’s Disease in the Rat. In: Lane, E., Dunnett, S. (eds) Animal Models of Movement Disorders. Neuromethods, vol 61. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-61779-298-4_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-61779-298-4_13

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-61779-297-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-61779-298-4

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