Figure 5. Sickle cell mice have impaired performance on the rotarod task.

Data are shown as least-square means±standard error of the least-square means of latency to fall from the rod for male and female controls (A) and homozygotes (B). Overall, controlling for sex and trial, homozygotes had shorter latency to fall from the rotating rod compared to controls (p=0.030, for genotype effect). In addition, controlling for genotype and sex, overall, over the three trials, both controls and homozygotes displayed increases in latency to fall (p<0.0001 for overall effect of trial) indicating that homozygous have intact motor learning, a finding similar to that observed on the Erasmus ladder. However, there was a sex by genotype by trial interaction (p=0.024) indicating that comparing controls and homozygotes, the trajectory of latency to fall over the three trials varied according to trial and sex. Specifically, over the three trials, among homozygotes, both males (p=0.014) and females (p=0.034) showed increases in latency to fall from trial one to trial three. In contrast among controls, female (p<0.0001), but not male mice (p=0.713), had increases in latency to fall from trial one to trial three. Forty mice participated in the rotarod test N=20 per genotype including balanced numbers of age-matched male and females.