Motor skill sequence (MOSS), a highly sensitive tool to characterise and quantify deficits of central motor coordination in mice

Aim: So far, it remains difficult to reliably detect a behavioural equivalent of central motor coordination in mice. A highly sensitive functional readout parameter is desirable specifically with regard to the development of new medical treatments in neurological diseases. We therefore introduce a novel murine motor test, the motor skill sequence (MOSS), which is designed to detect latent deficits in motor performance. The test is evaluated in the cuprizone mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS), where the copper chelator cuprizone induces reversible demyelination predominantly of the corpus callosum, and in the…