Kinematic analysis of sensorimotor behavior during variable ladder rung walking in short-tailed opossums (Monodelphis domestica)

Abstract

Summary This protocol presents a workflow for detecting differences in kinematics between experimental conditions. It is tailored for short-tailed opossums but can be applied to any species capable of completing the ladder rung task. There are four phases of this protocol: (1) data collection, (2) pose tracking, (3) analysis of single trials, and (4) cross-condition comparisons. This pipeline implements aspects of machine learning and signal processing, allowing for rapid data analysis that provides insight into how animals perform this task. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Englund et al. (2020) .