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Updated: Dec 23, 2025
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Low-Cost Gait Analysis for Behavioral Phenotyping of Mouse Models of Neuromuscular Disease
Published on: July 18, 2019
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The trajectory of gait development in mice
Shyam K Akula1,2,3, Katherine B McCullough1,2, Claire Weichselbaum1,2
1Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
Brain and Behavior
|April 26, 2020
Summary
Mouse gait development parallels human gait maturation, providing a standard for neurodevelopmental disorder (NDD) research. This study establishes a quantitative assay for analyzing gait in NDD mouse models.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Biology
- Biomechanics
Background:
- Gait irregularities are common in neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs).
- Understanding normal gait development in mouse models is crucial for NDD research.
- Current methods for assessing gait in mouse models are limited.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a quantitative, standardized, and reproducible assay for assessing developmental gait metrics in mice.
- To characterize the gait developmental trajectory in C57BL/6J and FVB/AntJ mouse strains.
- To provide a reference for gait phenotyping in NDD mouse models.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the DigiGait system for quantitative gait analysis.
- Characterized gait trajectories in developing C57BL/6J and FVB/AntJ mice.
- Accounted for body length in stride measurements.
Main Results:
- Mouse forelimb stride maturation (40% swing, 60% stance) mirrors human gait.
- Identified developmental trajectories for multiple gait parameters in both mouse strains.
- Demonstrated the importance of considering body length in gait metric interpretation.
Conclusions:
- Mouse gait development shows parallels with human gait development timelines.
- The developed DigiGait assay serves as a standard reference for developmental gait phenotyping in murine models.
- This research facilitates better gait phenotyping in NDD experimental models.
