Turn on the treadmill and manually set the belt speed to 20 centimeters per second on the equipment panel before switching on the apparatus light. Launch the DigiGait Imager software and set the shutter speed to 100 for albino mice or 130 for black or dark mice in the field for shutter speed. Place the mouse onto the treadmill belt and confirm that the mouse can perform the test by setting it to a slow walking speed for around three seconds and then stopping it while observing the mouse continuously.
Start the belt by pressing the start button and record for 10 seconds. Ensure that a clear and fluent locomotion of at least 10 to 15 steps is observable. Stop the belt by pressing the stop button and return the mouse to the temporary holding cage.
Screen the recording for a sequence of images with fluent steps by clicking play and reviewing the recording with the visual control in edit mode. Select 10 to 15 fluent movements by manually writing their starting and ending frame numbers into the relevant fields. Enter the animal information, including animal ID, date of birth, sex, weight, belt speed, and belt angle.
Save the file by clicking save. Next, open the DigiGait Analysis software and perform gait analysis based on a fully automated analysis of video recordings of animal footprints. The gait indices of UBE3A mutant animals were altered.
UBE3A mutant animals had a longer swing and stance that resulted in prolonged stride duration and length. Mice's hind limbs, propulsion, duration, and deceleration were also increased. These findings also revealed a larger pore area at the peak stance.
