An observer's view of locomotor asymmetry in the rat

Motor asymmetries in locomotion were studied in rats with unilateral neocortical removals in order to illustrate the utility of direct observation of behavior. Rats with unilateral cortical removals showed different postural asymmetries on simple tests that appear superficially similar and the observed motor asymmetries were differentially affected by postoperative recovery time as well as age at surgery. It is recognized that automated recording devices may be useful for measuring some brain-behavior relations but it is argued that automated recording cannot replace direct observation.