Distinct Kinematic Adjustments over Multiple Timescales Accompany Locomotor Skill Development in Mice.

ABSTRACT: Robust locomotion is critical to many species' survival, yet the mechanisms by which efficient locomotion is learned and maintained are poorly understood. In mice, a common paradigm for assaying locomotor learning is the rotarod task, in which mice learn to maintain balance atop of an accelerating rod. However, the standard metric for learning in this task is improvements in latency to fall, which gives little insight into the rich kinematic adjustments that accompany locomotor learning. In this study, we developed a rotarod-like task called the RotaWheel in which changes in paw kinematics are tracked using high-speed cameras as mice learn to stay atop an accelerating wheel. Using this device, we found that learning was accompanied by stereotyped progressions of paw kinematics that correla

SUBMITTER: Nguyen KP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8561674 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature