Home cage-based insights into motor learning and strategy adaptation in a Huntington disease mouse model
Fig 2
Task performance and motor learning across genotypes.
(A) Analysis of the duration mice spent in the initial, less complex ‘Stage 1’ of the task revealed no significant difference between genotypes (Mann-Whitney test, p = 0.378). (B) Representative lever-pull trajectory plots from 100 consecutive trials of an expert WT mouse with a required hold time of 1 second (left panel). A detailed view of a single trial further illustrated the precision in hold time necessary to meet the task criteria (right panel). (C) Throughout Stage 2, daily success rates showed no significant variation between genotypes or across days in the cage (RM two-way ANOVA genotype p = 0.599 F(1, 22) = 0.2839, days p = 0.477 F(8.331, 179.1) = 0.9523, interaction p = 0.897 F(58, 1247) = 0.7696), suggesting a consistent performance level maintained by all mice. (D) The average daily hold time of WT mice showed an increase in response to the progressively demanding requirements of the task, while zQ175 mice reached a plateau at a significantly lower average hold time (RM two-way ANOVA, genotype p = 0.018 F(1, 22) = 6.432, days p < 0.0001 F(4.369, 96.11) = 9.192, interaction p < 0.0001 F(57, 1254) = 2.513). Plots in A, C, and D show mean±SEM.