Standard protocol for hot plate test
Mice are brought to the testing room and allowed to acclimatize for 10 minutes before the test begins. Pain reflexes in response to a thermal stimulus are measured using a Hot Plate Analgesia Meter from Columbus Instruments (Columbus, OH). The surface of the hot plate is heated to a constant temperature of 55oC, as measured by a built-in digital thermometer with an accuracy of 0.1oC and verified by a surface thermometer. Mice are placed on the hot plate (25.4 cm x 25.4 cm), which is surrounded by a clear acrylic cage (19 cm tall, open top), and the Start/Stop button on the timer is activated. The latency to respond with either a hindpaw lick, hindpaw flick, or jump (which ever comes first) is measured to the nearest 0.1 seconds by deactivating the timer when the response is observed. The mouse is immediately removed from the hot plate and returned to its home cage. If a mouse does not respond within 30 seconds, the test is terminated and the mouse is removed from the hot plate. Animals are tested one at a time and are not habituated to the apparatus prior to testing. Each animal is tested only once.
Customized options
- Testing before and after compound administration
- Measurements at different constant temperatures
- Responses to incremental increases in temperature
References
Wilson, S.G., and Mogil, J.S. Measuring pain in the (knockout) mouse: big challenges in a small mammal. Behav. Brain Res. 2001;125:65-73 [PubMed: 11682095].
Malmberg, A.B., and Bannon, A.W. Models of nociception: hot-plate, tail-flick, and formalin tests in rodents. Current Protocols in Neuroscience 1999;8.9.1-8.9.15.
Mogil JS, Wilson SG, Bon K, Lee SE, Chung K, Raber P, Pieper JO, Hain HS, Belknap JK, Hubert L, Elmer GI, Chung JM, Devor M. Heritability of nociception I: responses of 11 inbred mouse strains on 12 measures of nociception. Pain 1999;80:67-82 [Pub Med: 10204719].
