[Movement profile analysis--automatic registration and evaluation of the movement patterns of small animals]

A method is described, in which small laboratory animals are freely moving in the field of analogous capacitive sensors. The electrical signals induced by animal movements which, according to amplitude and polarity, contain informations on intensity and direction of movements are conveyed to a classification device and classified according to well-defined classes. By measuring during a fixed time (e.g. 10 min) or for a previously determined number of signals (e.g. 2000) a distribution of class frequencies, the movement profile, is obtained. Parameters of movement profile of mice in the orientation phase and factors of influence are reported on. The method allows the continuously automatic registration of movement profiles.