Knowledge Base

Prepare Data Acquisition

4.1 Train the Animals

Before you start acquiring runs, animals need to learn to cross the walkway without interruptions or hitches so all animals start from a similar baseline. This is important in order to be able, during an experiment, to compare different runs and pick up gait abnormalities that are the result of effects of treatment rather than differences in quality of runs.

Below you find a description of a training procedure that you can adapt to suit your experimental setup:

1. Habituate the animal to the CatWalk system by placing it in the corridor for 1 minute on a number of consecutive days until it freely explores the walkway. Make sure the corridor walls are together as close as possible so the animal is still able to comfortably walk in between the walls but is not able to meander too much from side to side.
2. One week prior to treatment, train the animals to run across the glass plate with a minimum of three runs per day. You can condition the animals to run by signaling the availability of a food pellet at the other end of the walkway using a conspicuous auditory or visual cue placing food pellets. If necessary, subject the animals to mild food restriction or deprivation.
3. The training criterion could then be that the animal crosses the walkway without any interruptions or hitches, in three consecutive runs.

You can use all sorts of incentives to facilitate runs across the walkway. You can use normal food pellets but also special rodent sweets or candy. Using the special goal box also facilitates the animal crossing the walkway.

The time it takes for the average animal to cross the glass plate can be used as a basis for the run criteria.

Tips From CatWalk XT Users

Training Animals in a Different Environment

Some users find it more convenient to train an animal to cross a certain distance, similar to the length of the walkway, in another apparatus than the CatWalk system. For example, you can start training an animal to run from one side of an open field to the other. Once it has learnt to run this distance, you can let it run on the walkway.

Using Home Cage Mates

If you use the goal box, let all animals from a home cage habituate together in the goal box. For example, the first time for five minutes, the next time for two-three minutes. In that case you must make sure that only one rat crosses the walkway and the others stay in the goal box, for example using a sliding door between the walkway and the goal box entrance. When the animal approaches the goal box, open the sliding door and close it carefully to avoid pinching the animals' tail after it has entered that cage.

How Long Should You Wait?

Let the animal find its own way to the other end of the walkway, without trying to force it in any way. Wait up to for example 15-20 minutes. Experience shows that patience produces good results.