2 mg/mL ascorbic acid in 0.9% sterile saline, slightly modified from that used by Parish et al. (2001). A total volume of 1.5 μL was injected using the stereotaxic coordinates A/P = −3.0, M/L = −1.2, click here D/V = −4.5, with a flat skull position (coordinates in mm, with anterior–posterior and lateral measured from bregma, and ventral from dura). Injections were made at a rate of 0.5 μL/min with a further 2 min allowed for the toxin to diffuse before slow withdrawal of

the capillary, followed by cleaning and suturing of the wound. Rotational asymmetry was assessed using an automated rotometer system (AccuScan Instruments, Columbus, OH, USA) based on the design of Ungerstedt & Arbuthnott (1970). Full body turns were counted and data was expressed as net turns per minute, with rotation toward the side of the lesion given a Erismodegib positive value. Amphetamine-induced rotational scores were used as an estimate of the extent of DA depletion and were collected over a 40-min test session following 5 mg/kg of d-amphetamine sulphate, i.p. (dissolved in 0.9% sterile saline). Animals were allowed to habituate for 5 min after injection before the

recording of rotations began. Apomorphine-induced rotation reflects the hypersensitivity of the lesioned striatum and this was assessed by testing over a 40-min test session after challenge with 0.1 mg/kg of apomorphine, s.c. (dissolved in a solution of 0.2 mg/mL ascorbic acid in 0.9% sterile saline). Animals were primed on two separate days prior to performing the rotation test for the first time (i.e. priming on Monday and Wednesday, followed with rotation test on Friday).

This avoided a ‘wind-up’ effect that could obscure the rotational responses observed. Animals were allowed to habituate for 5 min after injection before the recording of rotations began. Lateralized sensorimotor integration was measured using a task that was first established in rats by Dowd et al. (2005a) and is based on the classic tests of sensorimotor integration as introduced by Marshall et al. others (1974). In the current study the corridor test was adapted to mice using a long narrow plastic corridor (60 cm long, 4 cm wide and 15 cm high) with 10 pairs of adjacent pots, each with a diameter of 1 cm (Push cap; LIP Ltd., Galway, Ireland), containing 4-5 sugar pellets (20 mg; TestDiet) that were placed at 5-cm intervals along the length of the corridor (Fig. 1). A clear Perspex lid was placed on top of the apparatus to allow the mice to be observed during testing. Mice were food-restricted and maintained at 85% free-feeding bodyweight throughout habituation and testing. At the first time point, mice were habituated to the corridor by scattering sugar pellets along the floor and allowing them to freely explore for 10 min on two consecutive days prior to testing.