Fig. 2.

Characteristics of the step cycle during different locomotion tasks. A: averaged durations of the cycle, the swing and stance phases, and the duty factor (the ratio of stance duration to cycle duration) for the 5 cats, data from which were included in full-body mechanical analysis. B: same as A for the 3 cats, data from which were included in motor cortex activity analysis. The horizontal lines above bars indicate statistically significant (P < 0.05) differences between tasks (t-test). C: a stride diagram derived from simple locomotion of 5 cats used for mechanical analysis. Empty bars indicate the swing phase and black bars the stance phase of each limb. Horizontal error bars show SD. Four periods of 2-limb support and 4 periods of 3-limb support in one stride of the right forelimb are marked, with the walk stride formula 2–3–2–3–2–3–2–3.