Fig. 5.

HD mice show variable performance on the descending rod. N171-82Q are faster to descend the rod in early- (MWU = 252, p = 0.02) and mid-disease (t = 2.873, p = 0.003) and to turn on the rod in mid-disease (MWU = 186, p = 0.03) (A, B). zQ175 mice take longer to descend the rod early in the disease (t = 2.828, p = 0.01) with no difference in the time to turn on the rod (C, D). BACHD mice are faster to descend on the rod throughout the disease (2 months: MWU = 95, p < 0.0001; 6 months: t_w = 3.616, p = 0.0003; 12 months: t_w = 5.987, p < 0.0001) and to turn on the rod in early (MWU = 220, p = 0.002) and late disease (t_w = 5.155, p < 0.0001) (E, F). The difference in BACHD descending time (MWU = 65, p < 0.0001) and turn time on the rod (MWU = 174, p = 0.009) remains significant in early disease after correcting for weight (G, H). Representative model of the time taken to descend the rod or turn on the rod as the disease progresses (I, J). All comparisons are made to WT mice of the same background. Sample sizes are presented for each group. HD, Huntington’s disease carrier; NS, non-significant; WT, wild-type. Data represent mean ± SEM. ^*p ≤ 0.05, ^**p ≤ 0.01, ^***p ≤ 0.001, and ^****p ≤ 0.0001 indicates a significant difference by a Student’s t-test with or without Welch’s correction or Mann Whitney test for each time point.