Figure 1

Gaa^−/− mice have an abnormal motor coordination. Automatic gait analysis revealed that many general locomotor parameters were similar in wildtype 129/SvJ mice (blue dots) and Gaa^−/− mice (orange dots), including velocity of movement (A) and number of steps ((B); the slightly reduced number of in 4-month-old mice is most likely due to the weight difference). Other parameters are different between Gaa^−/− mice and age-matched control mice due to their different muscle force, including the maximum intensity of the footprints (C). On the other hand, both mouse lines behaved differently with respect to locomotion coordination parameters, including the lateral displacement (D), the base of support for the front- and hind limbs (E), as well as the regularity index (F). The distance between the position of the hind paw and the position of the previously placed front paw on the same side of the body and in the same step cycle (print position) was increased on the left as well as on the right side in Gaa^−/− mice (G) at both ages examined. Moreover, the time the mice were supported by contacting the ground with the diagonal and girdle sides limbs as well as the time the animal was supported by three or four limbs was longer in Gaa^−/− mice compared to 129/SvJ control mice (H). For a complete list of gait parameters analyzed see Supplementary Table 1. The bars show the mean ± SD with N = 17 (4-month-old 129SvJ) and N = 12 (4-month-old Gaa^−/−), N = 8 (8-month-old 129SvJ), N = 9 (8-month old Gaa^−/−) mice. Statistical significance was calculated using the unpaired student’s t-test.