Abstract
We developed a new swimming test for evaluating the degree of equilibrium dysfunction of rats with hemilateral vestibular disorder. The behavior of swimming rats in a water bath was observed for 60 sec. When a rat sank in the water, rotating about its longitudinal axis, the observation was stopped and the time was calculated. When a rat with both ears above the water, its behavior was assessed as normal swimming; when a rat swam with one ear under water, it was considered to be abnormal swimming. The swimming score was calculated by the following formula: [the duration (seconds) of normal swimming] + 1/2x [the duration (seconds) of abnormal swimming]. We think that this new swimming test will be useful in basic pharmacological research on therapy of balance disorders.
