Development of new techniques for behavioral evaluation In animals submitted to facial nerve damage

Three new methods for evaluating facial nerve injury were developed: Spontaneous ocular opening, vibrissae reflex and resistance to upper eyelid lifting. Nerve crush injury was performed by pressing the mice’s facial nerve with forceps for 30 seconds. Scores were given based on the comparison between the behavioral assessment of the injured and non-injured sides. Facial nerve injury is currently evaluated by observing the movement of the mice’s vibrissae and the ocular closure. In this study, three additional tests are proposed. Therefore, a wider evaluation can be accomplished where all the aspects of the facial mimicry can be assessed. The use of the 3 new methods described in this study, in addition to the 2 methods currently used, allows a complete behavioral assessment of facial nerve lesions as several behavioral aspects related to these injuries can be evaluated