Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, United States; Program in Neuroscience, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, United States.
Department of Kinesiology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, United States; Program in Neuroscience, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, United States.
Brain Res Bull. 2022 Apr;181:167-174. doi: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2022.01.021. Epub 2022 Feb 2.
Evaluating and quantifying the many aspects of movement - from open-field locomotion and stepping patterns in rodent models to stride trajectory and postural sway in human patients - are key to understanding brain function. Various experimental approaches have been used in applying these lines of research to investigate the brain mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative disease. Although valuable, data on movement are often limited by the shortcomings inherent in the data collection process itself. Steve Fowler and his research group have been instrumental in pioneering a technology that both minimizes these pitfalls in studies of rodent behavior and has applications to research on human patients. At the center of this technology is the force-plate actometer, developed by the Fowler group to assess multiple aspects of movement in rodent models. Our review highlights how use of the actometer and related behavioral measurements provides valuable insight into Huntington's disease (HD), an autosomal dominant condition of progressively deteriorating behavioral control. HD typically emerges in mid-life and has been replicated in multiple genetically engineered mouse models. The actometer also can be a valuable addition to cutting-edge neuronal and synaptic technologies that are now increasingly applied to studies of behaving animals. In short, the impact of the Fowler contribution to the neuroscience of movement is both meaningful and ongoing.
评估和量化运动的多个方面——从啮齿动物模型的旷场运动和步态模式到人类患者的步幅轨迹和姿势摆动——是理解大脑功能的关键。已经使用了各种实验方法将这些研究应用于研究神经退行性疾病的大脑机制。尽管这些数据很有价值，但运动数据通常受到数据收集过程本身固有缺陷的限制。Steve Fowler 及其研究小组在开创一种技术方面发挥了重要作用，这种技术既能最大限度地减少啮齿动物行为研究中的这些缺陷，又能应用于人类患者的研究。这项技术的核心是力板测动仪，由 Fowler 小组开发，用于评估啮齿动物模型中运动的多个方面。我们的综述强调了测动仪和相关行为测量的使用如何为亨廷顿病（HD）提供有价值的见解，亨廷顿病是一种进行性行为控制恶化的常染色体显性疾病。HD 通常在中年出现，并在多个基因工程小鼠模型中得到复制。测动仪也可以成为新兴的神经元和突触技术的有益补充，这些技术现在越来越多地应用于行为动物的研究。简而言之，Fowler 对运动神经科学的贡献具有重要意义且仍在继续。
