Automated ladder rung test for evaluating motor coordination in Parkinson’s disease mouse models

IF 2.5 4区医学 Q2 BIOCHEMICAL RESEARCH METHODS

Journal of Neuroscience Methods Pub Date : 2026-02-01 Epub Date: 2025-11-29 DOI:10.1016/j.jneumeth.2025.110642

Peng Zhang , Wei Xu , Wei Jiang , Xiaofei Jin , Yajun Lou , Tianyi Yang , Weitao Li , Keqiang Gao , Fan Gao , Zhiyu Qian

{"title":"Automated ladder rung test for evaluating motor coordination in Parkinson’s disease mouse models","authors":"Peng Zhang , Wei Xu , Wei Jiang , Xiaofei Jin , Yajun Lou , Tianyi Yang , Weitao Li , Keqiang Gao , Fan Gao , Zhiyu Qian","doi":"10.1016/j.jneumeth.2025.110642","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>The ladder rung walking test assesses fine motor coordination in Parkinson’s disease (PD) mouse models but relies on labor-intensive, subjective manual scoring, necessitating an automated, objective system.</div></div><div><h3>New Method</h3><div>We developed a cost-effective automated ladder rung test system with a ladder featuring regular and irregular rung patterns, array through-beam optical sensors for foot-error detection, and an Arduino microcontroller. Custom Python software enables intuitive control, real-time visualization, dynamic sensor mapping, adjustable debounce, and CSV data export.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>In an MPTP-induced PD mouse model, the system detected increased foot errors on irregular rungs (5.13 ± 1.04 vs. 1.78 ± 0.69 in controls, p < 0.0001) and longer traversal times (18.04 ± 2.64 s vs. 13.38 ± 1.95 s, p = 0.001), corroborated by open field and rotarod tests and a 68.7 % reduction in substantia nigra neurons.</div></div><div><h3>Comparison with Existing Methods</h3><div>Unlike costly camera-based systems requiring complex algorithms, our system uses simple photoelectric sensors and costs approximately 127 USD for all components, achieving 96.4 % precision and 99.3 % recall, making it accessible and user-friendly.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>This automated system offers a reproducible, high-throughput tool for objective motor assessment in PD and neurological models, enhancing preclinical research.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16415,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Neuroscience Methods","volume":"426 ","pages":"Article 110642"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5000,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Neuroscience Methods","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165027025002869","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2025/11/29 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"BIOCHEMICAL RESEARCH METHODS","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background

The ladder rung walking test assesses fine motor coordination in Parkinson’s disease (PD) mouse models but relies on labor-intensive, subjective manual scoring, necessitating an automated, objective system.

New Method

We developed a cost-effective automated ladder rung test system with a ladder featuring regular and irregular rung patterns, array through-beam optical sensors for foot-error detection, and an Arduino microcontroller. Custom Python software enables intuitive control, real-time visualization, dynamic sensor mapping, adjustable debounce, and CSV data export.

Results

In an MPTP-induced PD mouse model, the system detected increased foot errors on irregular rungs (5.13 ± 1.04 vs. 1.78 ± 0.69 in controls, p < 0.0001) and longer traversal times (18.04 ± 2.64 s vs. 13.38 ± 1.95 s, p = 0.001), corroborated by open field and rotarod tests and a 68.7 % reduction in substantia nigra neurons.

Comparison with Existing Methods

Unlike costly camera-based systems requiring complex algorithms, our system uses simple photoelectric sensors and costs approximately 127 USD for all components, achieving 96.4 % precision and 99.3 % recall, making it accessible and user-friendly.

Conclusions

This automated system offers a reproducible, high-throughput tool for objective motor assessment in PD and neurological models, enhancing preclinical research.

查看原文本刊更多论文

评估帕金森病小鼠模型运动协调性的自动梯阶试验。

背景：阶梯行走试验评估帕金森病（PD）小鼠模型的精细运动协调能力，但依赖于劳动密集型的主观人工评分，需要一个自动化、客观的系统。新方法：我们开发了一种具有成本效益的自动梯子梯级测试系统，该系统具有规则和不规则梯级模式的梯子，用于脚误差检测的阵列通束光学传感器和Arduino微控制器。自定义Python软件支持直观控制，实时可视化，动态传感器映射，可调debounce和CSV数据导出。结果：在mptp诱导的PD小鼠模型中，该系统检测到不规则台阶上的足部误差增加（5.13±1.04比对照组的1.78±0.69,p < 0.0001），行走时间延长（18.04±2.64s比13.38±1.95s, p = 0.001），开阔视野和旋转杆试验证实了这一点，黑质神经元减少68.7%。与现有方法的比较：与昂贵的基于相机的系统需要复杂的算法不同，我们的系统使用简单的光电传感器，所有组件的成本约为127美元，达到96.4%的精度和99.3%的召回率，易于使用和用户友好。结论：该自动化系统为PD和神经模型的客观运动评估提供了一个可重复的、高通量的工具，加强了临床前研究。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Journal of Neuroscience Methods 医学-神经科学

CiteScore

7.10

自引率

3.30%

发文量

226

审稿时长

52 days

期刊介绍： The Journal of Neuroscience Methods publishes papers that describe new methods that are specifically for neuroscience research conducted in invertebrates, vertebrates or in man. Major methodological improvements or important refinements of established neuroscience methods are also considered for publication. The Journal''s Scope includes all aspects of contemporary neuroscience research, including anatomical, behavioural, biochemical, cellular, computational, molecular, invasive and non-invasive imaging, optogenetic, and physiological research investigations.