# High-Speed-Ventral-Plane Videography Identifies Specific Gait Pattern Changes in Cuprizone-Induced Demyelination in Mice

## TL;DR

This study uses high-speed videography to detect gait changes in mice with cuprizone-induced demyelination, linking these changes to brain pathology.

## Contribution

The study introduces high-speed ventral plane videography as a sensitive, non-invasive method to monitor functional deficits in demyelination models.

## Key findings

- Significant gait changes were observed in hind limbs, including altered stride time, paw angle, and midline distance.
- Gait parameters correlated with histopathological evidence of demyelination and microglial activation in motor brain regions.
- The method shows potential as a functional biomarker for evaluating therapeutic interventions in demyelinating diseases.

## Abstract

Gait disturbances are among the most prominent motor symptoms in multiple sclerosis (MS), yet their functional characterization in preclinical models remains limited. In this study, we used high-speed ventral plane videography (DigiGait™) to analyze locomotor behavior during 5 weeks of cuprizone-induced demyelination in 10 male C57BL/6 mice. Gait analysis revealed significant alterations in stride time (left front paw from 0.303 ± 0.01 s to 0.257 ± 0.007 s; p = 0.003), paw angle (right fore paw from −13.78 ± 0.928° to 5.456 ± 2.146°; p = 0.003), and midline distance (right hind paw from 1.889 ± 0.099 cm to 1.216 ± 0.096 cm; p = 0.013), particularly in the hind limbs. These behavioral impairments correlated with histopathological findings of reduced myelination and elevated microglial activation in motor-relevant brain regions, including the corpus callosum, caudate-putamen, and motor cortex. Notably, specific gait parameters showed strong correlations with the degree of demyelination, supporting their relevance as functional biomarkers. Our data demonstrate that high-resolution gait analysis provides a sensitive, non-invasive tool to monitor functional deficits in demyelinating models and may aid in evaluating therapeutic efficacy in future studies.