The Foot Fault Scoring System to Assess Skilled Walking in Rodents: A Reliability Study
The foot fault scoring system of the ladder rung walking test (LRWT) is used to assess skilled walking in rodents. However, the reliability of the LRWT foot fault score has not been properly addressed. This study was designed to address this issue. Two independent and blinded raters analyzed 20 rats...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-04-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnbeh.2022.892010/full |
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| author | Lucas Athaydes Martins Lucas Athaydes Martins Aniuska Schiavo Aniuska Schiavo Léder Leal Xavier Régis Gemerasca Mestriner Régis Gemerasca Mestriner Régis Gemerasca Mestriner |
| author_facet | Lucas Athaydes Martins Lucas Athaydes Martins Aniuska Schiavo Aniuska Schiavo Léder Leal Xavier Régis Gemerasca Mestriner Régis Gemerasca Mestriner Régis Gemerasca Mestriner |
| author_sort | Lucas Athaydes Martins |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The foot fault scoring system of the ladder rung walking test (LRWT) is used to assess skilled walking in rodents. However, the reliability of the LRWT foot fault score has not been properly addressed. This study was designed to address this issue. Two independent and blinded raters analyzed 20 rats and 20 mice videos. Each video was analyzed twice by the same rater (80 analyses per rater). The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and the Kappa coefficient were employed to check the accuracy of agreement and reliability in the intra- and inter-rater analyses of the LRWT outcomes. Excellent intra- and inter-rater agreements were found for the forelimb, hindlimb, and both limbs combined in rats and mice. The agreement level was also excellent for total crossing time, total time stopped, and the number of stops during the walking path. Rating individual scores in the foot fault score system (0–6) ranged from satisfactory to excellent, in terms of the intraclass correlation indexes. Moreover, we showed that experienced and inexperienced raters can obtain reliable results if supervised training is provided. We concluded that the LRWT is a reliable and useful tool to study skilled walking in rodents and can help researchers address walking-related neurobiological questions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-14T06:52:45Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-dad5052f26394a0ba436465047058306 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1662-5153 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-14T06:52:45Z |
| publishDate | 2022-04-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience |
| spelling | doaj.art-dad5052f26394a0ba4364650470583062022-12-22T02:06:58ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience1662-51532022-04-011610.3389/fnbeh.2022.892010892010The Foot Fault Scoring System to Assess Skilled Walking in Rodents: A Reliability StudyLucas Athaydes Martins0Lucas Athaydes Martins1Aniuska Schiavo2Aniuska Schiavo3Léder Leal Xavier4Régis Gemerasca Mestriner5Régis Gemerasca Mestriner6Régis Gemerasca Mestriner7Graduate Program in Biomedical Gerontology, School of Medicine, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Porto Alegre, BrazilNeurorehabilitation and Neural Repair Research Group (NEUROPLAR), Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, BrazilGraduate Program in Biomedical Gerontology, School of Medicine, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Porto Alegre, BrazilNeurorehabilitation and Neural Repair Research Group (NEUROPLAR), Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, BrazilSchool of Health and Life Sciences, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, BrazilGraduate Program in Biomedical Gerontology, School of Medicine, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Porto Alegre, BrazilNeurorehabilitation and Neural Repair Research Group (NEUROPLAR), Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, BrazilSchool of Health and Life Sciences, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, BrazilThe foot fault scoring system of the ladder rung walking test (LRWT) is used to assess skilled walking in rodents. However, the reliability of the LRWT foot fault score has not been properly addressed. This study was designed to address this issue. Two independent and blinded raters analyzed 20 rats and 20 mice videos. Each video was analyzed twice by the same rater (80 analyses per rater). The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and the Kappa coefficient were employed to check the accuracy of agreement and reliability in the intra- and inter-rater analyses of the LRWT outcomes. Excellent intra- and inter-rater agreements were found for the forelimb, hindlimb, and both limbs combined in rats and mice. The agreement level was also excellent for total crossing time, total time stopped, and the number of stops during the walking path. Rating individual scores in the foot fault score system (0–6) ranged from satisfactory to excellent, in terms of the intraclass correlation indexes. Moreover, we showed that experienced and inexperienced raters can obtain reliable results if supervised training is provided. We concluded that the LRWT is a reliable and useful tool to study skilled walking in rodents and can help researchers address walking-related neurobiological questions.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnbeh.2022.892010/fulllocomotionrodentiareliabilityratmicewalking |
| spellingShingle | Lucas Athaydes Martins Lucas Athaydes Martins Aniuska Schiavo Aniuska Schiavo Léder Leal Xavier Régis Gemerasca Mestriner Régis Gemerasca Mestriner Régis Gemerasca Mestriner The Foot Fault Scoring System to Assess Skilled Walking in Rodents: A Reliability Study Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience locomotion rodentia reliability rat mice walking |
| title | The Foot Fault Scoring System to Assess Skilled Walking in Rodents: A Reliability Study |
| title_full | The Foot Fault Scoring System to Assess Skilled Walking in Rodents: A Reliability Study |
| title_fullStr | The Foot Fault Scoring System to Assess Skilled Walking in Rodents: A Reliability Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Foot Fault Scoring System to Assess Skilled Walking in Rodents: A Reliability Study |
| title_short | The Foot Fault Scoring System to Assess Skilled Walking in Rodents: A Reliability Study |
| title_sort | foot fault scoring system to assess skilled walking in rodents a reliability study |
| topic | locomotion rodentia reliability rat mice walking |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnbeh.2022.892010/full |
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