Over the years, there has been an increase in research on parkinsonism in basic and translational
neuroscience. Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder vehemently
associated with motor function deficits and other unique features collectively called the Parkinsonian
triad, which slightly differs from other movement disorders such as Wilson’s disease, tardive
dyskinesia, chorea, and athetosis. Parkinsonian triad combines three major motor phenotypes of PD
including bradykinesia, rigidity, and resting tremors. Hence, there is a need to review motor deficits
protocols to create a set of behavioral protocols that critically address the parkinsonian triad’s
quantification in PD models. Literature search on Medline and PubMed was conducted to access
the articles on the motor function test in a rodent model of Parkinsonism. Search terms include
parkinsonism, parkinsonian triad, bradykinesia, rigidity, resting tremors, stepping test, parallel bar
test, pole test, and cylinder test. This review shows that bradykinesia characterized by difficulty in
movement initiation could be assessed using a stepping test by measuring stepping length and time
taken to initiate movement on a wooden ramp. It can also be assessed using a parallel bar test by
measuring the time taken to make 90° turn. This turning hesitation is one of the critical features of
akinesia. Rigidity is associated with an increase in muscle tone; it is assessed by using a pole test to
measure the time taken for the rodent to slide down a smooth pole. Resting tremors is an involuntary,
oscillatory movement of the distal part of the upper limb when not performing an action. It could be
graded using a cylinder test when the rodent suspends its forelimb on the air in an attempt to climb
the wall of the cylinder. In conclusion, the examinations and quantifications of the Parkinsonian triad
are required to diagnose parkinsonism in rodent models.