Automatic Foot misplacement apparatus

Presentation

Mouse on the FMA

The Foot Misplacement Apparatus (FMA) is a unique system to objectively detect gait or walking disorders, abnormalities of coordination and motor or reflex problems in rodents (rat or mouse) in a highly accurate way, by recording the number, position and duration of errors of an animal walking in an opaque corridor on an horizontal ladder towards a dark compartment.

The ladder rungs can be removed to increase the difficulty of the exercise or create traps, and two sets of 77 infrared sensors are placed above and below the ladder to detect the subject’s movement and any paw misplacements.

The instrument allows you to quantify the recovery of sensorimotor activity, and is of particular interest for studies on myopathy, ataxia, alcoholism, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease, recovery from brain or spinal cord injuries, and much more !

Operating principle

A departure and an arrival box are located at opposite ends of a horizontal ladder encased in a corridor. Infra-red beams and sensors (-77 sets above and below the ladder) detect the subject’s movement along the length of the ladder and are used to recognize and record the exact position and duration of errors in motor coordination (missteps or paw slips between any 2 rungs). The included software differentiates among front and hind paw errors and erroneous tail errors.

The space between the rungs can be adjusted to increase the difficulty, and one or more rungs can be removed to create traps and assess cerebellar learning.