Department of Kinesiology, Occupational Therapy Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53792.
J Neurosci Methods. 2023 Mar 15;388:109811. doi: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2023.109811. Epub 2023 Feb 3.
Understanding gait development is essential for identifying motor impairments in neurodevelopmental disorders. Defining typical gait development in a rhesus macaque model is critical prior to characterizing abnormal gait. The goal of this study was to 1) explore the feasibility of using the Noldus Catwalk to assess gait in infant rhesus macaques and 2) provide preliminary normative data of gait development during the first month of life.
The Noldus Catwalk was used to assess gait speed, dynamic and static paw measurements, and interlimb coordination in twelve infant rhesus macaques at 14, 21, and 28 days of age. All macaque runs were labeled as a diagonal or non-diagonal walking pattern.
Infant rhesus macaques primarily used a diagonal (mature) walking pattern as early as 14 days of life. Ten infant rhesus macaques (83.3%) were able to successfully walk across the Noldus Catwalk at 28 days of life. Limited differences in gait parameters were observed between timepoints because of the variability within the group at 14, 21, and 28 days.
No prior gait analysis system has been used to provide objective quantification of gait parameters for infant macaques.
The Catwalk system can be utilized to quantify gait in infant rhesus macaques less than 28 days old. Future applications to infant rhesus macaques could provide a better understanding of gait development and early differences within various neurodevelopmental disorders.
了解步态发育对于识别神经发育障碍中的运动障碍至关重要。在描述异常步态之前，定义恒河猴模型中的典型步态发育是至关重要的。本研究的目的是：1）探索使用 Noldus Catwalk 评估婴儿恒河猴步态的可行性，2）提供生命最初一个月步态发育的初步规范数据。
使用 Noldus Catwalk 在 14、21 和 28 日龄的 12 只婴儿恒河猴中评估步态速度、动态和静态足测量以及肢体间协调性。所有恒河猴的跑步均标记为对角线或非对角线行走模式。
婴儿恒河猴早在 14 日龄时就主要使用对角线（成熟）行走模式。10 只恒河猴（83.3%）能够在 28 日龄时成功地走过 Noldus Catwalk。由于 14、21 和 28 日龄组内的变异性，步态参数之间的差异很小。
以前没有步态分析系统用于对婴儿恒河猴的步态参数进行客观量化。
Catwalk 系统可用于量化小于 28 日龄的婴儿恒河猴的步态。未来对婴儿恒河猴的应用可能会更好地了解步态发育和各种神经发育障碍中的早期差异。
