Gait topography in rat locomotion.

Gait topography has been quantified and normative data established for free, spontaneous locomotion in rats. The normal walking pattern has been compared for male and female rats and for three rat strains. The normal walking gait was found to be symmetrical, and measures of stride width (SW) and stride length (SL) were consistent, with coefficients of variability ranging between 10 and 21%. A study of gait ontogeny found that for both male and female rats, SL increased as a linear function of body weight, whereas SW increased curvilinearly. The results indicate that repeated measures of gait topography were not subject to interference from habituation. A sex difference in gait ontogeny was observed. The developmental pattern is similar for both sexes, but males increase both SL and SW faster than females. It is proposed that gait topography may yield valuable information in activity studies.