CatWalk gait analysis

One week before the experiments, mice were trained on the CatWalk for at least three runs per day. Before each recording, mice were allowed to cross the walkway once or twice for habituation. Mice were then tested individually and allowed to move freely. The effective gait was evaluated under the following conditions in the actual trial: Animals ran continuously from one end of the channel to the other. All runs with a complete duration between 0.50 and 8.00 seconds, and a maximum speed variation of 60%, were considered successful. At least three effective runs were recorded for each mouse. After each test, the glass channel was wiped clean with 75% alcohol to prevent stains from affecting the identification of subsequent mouse footprints. Gait was assessed using two indices: the regularity index and the base of support. The regularity index equaled the number of normal step-sequence patterns divided by the total number of paw placements. The base of support equaled the average width between the hind paws.