QUANTITATIVE ASPECTS OF NORMAL LOCOMOTION IN RATS

The basic quantitative aspects of walking are described for a group of normal rats. Within the range of speed from 20 to 80 cm/sec, rats walk consistently with no spatial or temporal alterations. All four feet show similar walking parameters. Walking can be described spatially, in terms of placement of the four feet, and temporally, in terms of stride duration and of its two components, swing time and stance time. As rats walk more quickly, their stance time decreases, while their stride length increases. The swing time does not change with speed of walking. Normal gait is a lateral sequence, diagonal couplet. This sequencing does not vary with speed of locomotion within the range for walking. The ability to quantify normal rat locomotion permits precise description of the locomotion dysfunction observed in animal models of neurological diseases. © 1979.