Versatile treadmill system for measuring locomotion and neural activity in head-fixed mice

Eva Maria Meier Carlsen; Maiken Nedergaard; Rune Nguyen Rasmussen

doi:10.1016/j.xpro.2022.101701

Versatile treadmill system for measuring locomotion and neural activity in head-fixed mice

STAR Protoc. 2022 Dec 16;3(4):101701. doi: 10.1016/j.xpro.2022.101701. Epub 2022 Sep 14.

Authors

Eva Maria Meier Carlsen¹, Maiken Nedergaard², Rune Nguyen Rasmussen³

Affiliations

¹ Center for Translational Neuromedicine, University of Copenhagen, 2200 Copenhagen, Denmark.
² Center for Translational Neuromedicine, University of Copenhagen, 2200 Copenhagen, Denmark; Center for Translational Neuromedicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester NY 14642, USA.
³ Center for Translational Neuromedicine, University of Copenhagen, 2200 Copenhagen, Denmark. Electronic address: rune.nguyen.rasmussen@sund.ku.dk.

Abstract

Here, we present a protocol for using a versatile treadmill system to measure locomotion and neural activity at high temporal resolution in head-fixed mice. We first describe the assembly of the treadmill system. We then detail surgical implantation of the headplate on the mouse skull, followed by habituation of mice to locomotion on the treadmill system. The system is compact, movable, and simple to synchronize with other data streams, making it ideal for monitoring brain activity in diverse behavioral frameworks. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Rasmussen et al. (2019).

Keywords: Behavior; Model organisms; Neuroscience; Systems biology.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Locomotion*
Mice