A force plate system for measuring low-magnitude reaction forces in small laboratory animals

We present a force plate system which measures low-magnitude vertical reaction forces generated by small laboratory animals. The force plate mechanical design minimizes radiated transverse waves, acoustic reverberation, and standing waves caused by impacts on the force plate surface. A secondary force plate and PC-based software algorithm minimize floor vibrational artifact. The force plate was used to measure function of rats during two tests: forelimb/hindlimb hopping reaction and surface righting reaction. In control rats, forelimb hopping rate exceeded hindlimb hopping rate during 16 weeks of repeated testing. Subchronic intraperitoneal (i.p.) dosing of 10 mg/kg/day acrylamide produced a selective impairment of hindlimb hopping. In contrast, single doses of haloperidol (1-5 mg/kg, i.p.) slowed the righting reaction and produced a relatively selective impairment of forelimb hopping. The force plate system presents new opportunities for performing quantitative neurological assessments of small laboratory animals when previously such tests had been performed subjectively and qualitatively.