Abstract
Previous studies comparing age-related changes in locomotor function in nonhuman primates have generally relied on subjective human observations or rudimentary infrared motion sensors. Here, we used the automated video-tracking system EthoVision to objectively quantify locomotor activity in 6 young, 6 middle-aged and 12 aged female rhesus monkeys. The video records were analyzed for distance traveled, movement speed and vertical activity. Our results showed that the young monkeys (4.9 ± 0.1 years old) traveled twice the distance and moved 48% faster than the middle-aged monkeys (15.7 ± 0.5 years old), and traveled thrice the distance and moved 67% faster than the aged monkeys (26.3 ± 0.9 years old). In addition, young monkeys were vertically more active (20/60 min) than both the middle-aged (7/60 min) and the aged (1/60 min) monkeys. Furthermore, the locomotor performance of the individual animals significantly correlated with increasing age for all three measures. We conclude that EthoVision is a reliable and objective tracking method for detecting age-related differences in locomotor movements in rhesus macaques, and possibly in humans.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1477-1483 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Neurobiology of Aging |
| Volume | 27 |
| Issue number | 10 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Oct 2006 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The authors declare having no consulting or other financial arrangements with Noldus Information Technology, the company that produces and markets the automated video-tracking system EthoVision used in the present study. This work was supported by NIH Grant AG13494.
Keywords
- Aging
- Motor functions
- Nonhuman primates
- Rhesus
- Video-tracking
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Neuroscience
- Aging
- Clinical Neurology
- Developmental Biology
- Geriatrics and Gerontology