LID induction and AIMs ratings
6-OHDA hemilesioned rats received 6 mg kg-1 L-DOPA
(plus 12 mg kg-1 benserazide, s.c.), once a day for 21
days as originally described by MA Cenci and collaborators
(Cenci et al. , 1998;
Cenci et al. , 2007) and reported
by our group (Marti et al. , 2012;
Mela et al. , 2012;
Paolone et al. , 2015). Rats were
observed individually for 1 min every 20 min during the 3 h that
followed an L-DOPA injection. Dyskinetic movements were classified based
on their topographic distribution into three subtypes: (i) axial AIMs,
that is, twisted posture or choreiform twisting of the neck and upper
body toward the side contralateral to the lesion; (ii) forelimb AIMs,
that is, jerky or dystonic movements of the contralateral forelimb
and/or purposeless grabbing movement of the contralateral paw; (iii)
orolingual AIMs, that is, orofacial muscle twitching, empty masticatory
movements and contralateral tongue protrusion. Each AIM subtype was
rated on frequency and amplitude scales from 0 to 4
(Cenci et al. , 2007). Dyskinesia
score was calculated either in the induction phase or during the
microdialysis sessions, as the product of frequency x amplitude
(Cenci et al. , 2007), and
presented as cumulative AIMs score.