April 11th as World Parkinson's Day, World Parkinson's Day, a propitious moment to reflect on the strides made in understanding and treating this complex neurodegenerative disorder, impacting movement, quality of life, and independence.

Understanding of Parkinson's has grown significantly over the past decades, but much work remains to be done in the quest to translate understanding of basic Parkinson's biology into new therapies.

Although often used in a interchangeable manner, “motor function and motor coordination” have a subtle difference. While “motor function” refers to general motor performance including strength, and in general the ability to execute purposeful movements, “motor coordination” is a slightly more specific concept even more tightly related to measure the harmonious functioning on the muscles and limbs to produce smooth and efficient movements. Read more to discover which Ugo Basile devices are used for these two different applications.

Much has happened since in 1957 Dunham and Miya published on Journal of the American Pharmacological Association the paper “A note on a simple apparatus for detecting neurological deficit in rats and mice”. That “simple apparatus” has been one of the most effective inventions in Animal Behavior with an incredible impact on science with more than 4,000 citations if searched on Google Scholar.