Data from: A novel behavioral paradigm using mice to study predictive postural control

Postural control circuitry performs the essential function of maintaining
balance and body position in response to perturbations that are either
self-generated (e.g. reaching to pick up an object) or externally
delivered (e.g. being pushed by another person). Human studies have shown
that anticipation of predictable postural disturbances can modulate such
responses. This indicates that postural control could involve higher-level
neural structures associated with predictive functions, rather than being
purely reactive. However, the underlying neural circuitry remains largely
unknown. To enable studies of predictive postural control circuits, we
developed a novel experimental paradigm for mice. In this paradigm,
modeled after human studies, a dynamic platform generated reproducible
translational perturbations. While mice stood bipedally atop a perch to
receive water rewards, they experienced backward translations that were
either unpredictable or preceded by an auditory cue. To validate the
paradigm, we investigated the effect of the auditory cue on postural
responses to perturbations across multiple days in three mice. These
preliminary results serve to validate a new postural control experimental
paradigm, opening the door to the types of neural recordings and circuit
manipulations that are currently possible in mice.