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Norris MR, Becker LJ, Bilbily J, Chang YH, Borges G, Dunn SS, Madasu MK, Vazquez CR, Cariello SA, Al-Hasani R, Creed MC, McCall JG. Spared nerve injury decreases motivation in long-access homecage-based operant tasks in mice. Pain 2024; 165:1247-1265. [PMID: 38015628 PMCID: PMC11095834 DOI: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000003123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2022] [Accepted: 10/10/2023] [Indexed: 11/30/2023]
Abstract
ABSTRACT Neuropathic pain causes both sensory and emotional maladaptation. Preclinical animal studies of neuropathic pain-induced negative affect could result in novel insights into the mechanisms of chronic pain. Modeling pain-induced negative affect, however, is variable across research groups and conditions. The same injury may or may not produce robust negative affective behavioral responses across different species, strains, and laboratories. Here, we sought to identify negative affective consequences of the spared nerve injury model on C57BL/6J male and female mice. We found no significant effect of spared nerve injury across a variety of approach-avoidance conflict, hedonic choice, and coping strategy assays. We hypothesized these inconsistencies may stem in part from the short test duration of these assays. To test this hypothesis, we used the homecage-based Feeding Experimentation Device version 3 to conduct 12-hour, overnight progressive ratio testing to determine whether mice with chronic spared nerve injury had decreased motivation to earn palatable food rewards. Our data demonstrate that despite equivalent task learning, spared nerve injury mice are less motivated to work for a sugar pellet than sham controls. Furthermore, when we normalized behavioral responses across all the behavioral assays we tested, we found that a combined normalized behavioral score is predictive of injury state and significantly correlates with mechanical thresholds. Together, these results suggest that homecage-based operant behaviors provide a useful platform for modeling nerve injury-induced negative affect and that valuable pain-related information can arise from agglomerative data analyses across behavioral assays-even when individual inferential statistics do not demonstrate significant mean differences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Makenzie R. Norris
- Department of Anesthesiology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA; Department of Pharmaceutical and Administrative Sciences, St. Louis College of Pharmacy, St. Louis, MO, USA; Center for Clinical Pharmacology, St. Louis College of Pharmacy and Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA; Washington University Pain Center, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
- Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Léa J. Becker
- Department of Anesthesiology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA; Department of Pharmaceutical and Administrative Sciences, St. Louis College of Pharmacy, St. Louis, MO, USA; Center for Clinical Pharmacology, St. Louis College of Pharmacy and Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA; Washington University Pain Center, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - John Bilbily
- Department of Anesthesiology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA; Department of Pharmaceutical and Administrative Sciences, St. Louis College of Pharmacy, St. Louis, MO, USA; Center for Clinical Pharmacology, St. Louis College of Pharmacy and Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA; Washington University Pain Center, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Yu-Hsuan Chang
- Department of Anesthesiology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA; Department of Pharmaceutical and Administrative Sciences, St. Louis College of Pharmacy, St. Louis, MO, USA; Center for Clinical Pharmacology, St. Louis College of Pharmacy and Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA; Washington University Pain Center, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
- Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Gustavo Borges
- Department of Anesthesiology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA; Department of Pharmaceutical and Administrative Sciences, St. Louis College of Pharmacy, St. Louis, MO, USA; Center for Clinical Pharmacology, St. Louis College of Pharmacy and Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA; Washington University Pain Center, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Samantha S. Dunn
- Department of Anesthesiology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA; Department of Pharmaceutical and Administrative Sciences, St. Louis College of Pharmacy, St. Louis, MO, USA; Center for Clinical Pharmacology, St. Louis College of Pharmacy and Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA; Washington University Pain Center, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
- Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Manish K. Madasu
- Department of Anesthesiology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA; Department of Pharmaceutical and Administrative Sciences, St. Louis College of Pharmacy, St. Louis, MO, USA; Center for Clinical Pharmacology, St. Louis College of Pharmacy and Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA; Washington University Pain Center, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Chayla R. Vazquez
- Department of Anesthesiology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA; Department of Pharmaceutical and Administrative Sciences, St. Louis College of Pharmacy, St. Louis, MO, USA; Center for Clinical Pharmacology, St. Louis College of Pharmacy and Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA; Washington University Pain Center, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
- Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Solana A. Cariello
- Department of Anesthesiology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA; Department of Pharmaceutical and Administrative Sciences, St. Louis College of Pharmacy, St. Louis, MO, USA; Center for Clinical Pharmacology, St. Louis College of Pharmacy and Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA; Washington University Pain Center, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Ream Al-Hasani
- Department of Anesthesiology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA; Department of Pharmaceutical and Administrative Sciences, St. Louis College of Pharmacy, St. Louis, MO, USA; Center for Clinical Pharmacology, St. Louis College of Pharmacy and Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA; Washington University Pain Center, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
- Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Meaghan C. Creed
- Department of Anesthesiology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA; Department of Pharmaceutical and Administrative Sciences, St. Louis College of Pharmacy, St. Louis, MO, USA; Center for Clinical Pharmacology, St. Louis College of Pharmacy and Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA; Washington University Pain Center, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
- Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Jordan G. McCall
- Department of Anesthesiology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA; Department of Pharmaceutical and Administrative Sciences, St. Louis College of Pharmacy, St. Louis, MO, USA; Center for Clinical Pharmacology, St. Louis College of Pharmacy and Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA; Washington University Pain Center, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
- Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
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2
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Gencturk S, Unal G. Rodent tests of depression and anxiety: Construct validity and translational relevance. COGNITIVE, AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2024; 24:191-224. [PMID: 38413466 PMCID: PMC11039509 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-024-01171-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/03/2024] [Indexed: 02/29/2024]
Abstract
Behavioral testing constitutes the primary method to measure the emotional states of nonhuman animals in preclinical research. Emerging as the characteristic tool of the behaviorist school of psychology, behavioral testing of animals, particularly rodents, is employed to understand the complex cognitive and affective symptoms of neuropsychiatric disorders. Following the symptom-based diagnosis model of the DSM, rodent models and tests of depression and anxiety focus on behavioral patterns that resemble the superficial symptoms of these disorders. While these practices provided researchers with a platform to screen novel antidepressant and anxiolytic drug candidates, their construct validity-involving relevant underlying mechanisms-has been questioned. In this review, we present the laboratory procedures used to assess depressive- and anxiety-like behaviors in rats and mice. These include constructs that rely on stress-triggered responses, such as behavioral despair, and those that emerge with nonaversive training, such as cognitive bias. We describe the specific behavioral tests that are used to assess these constructs and discuss the criticisms on their theoretical background. We review specific concerns about the construct validity and translational relevance of individual behavioral tests, outline the limitations of the traditional, symptom-based interpretation, and introduce novel, ethologically relevant frameworks that emphasize simple behavioral patterns. Finally, we explore behavioral monitoring and morphological analysis methods that can be integrated into behavioral testing and discuss how they can enhance the construct validity of these tests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sinem Gencturk
- Behavioral Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Boğaziçi University, 34342, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Gunes Unal
- Behavioral Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Boğaziçi University, 34342, Istanbul, Turkey.
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3
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Benedict J, Cudmore RH. PiE: an open-source pipeline for home cage behavioral analysis. Front Neurosci 2023; 17:1222644. [PMID: 37583418 PMCID: PMC10423934 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1222644] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2023] [Accepted: 07/13/2023] [Indexed: 08/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Over the last two decades a growing number of neuroscience labs are conducting behavioral assays in rodents. The equipment used to collect this behavioral data must effectively limit environmental and experimenter disruptions, to avoid confounding behavior data. Proprietary behavior boxes are expensive, offer limited compatible sensors, and constrain analysis with closed-source hardware and software. Here, we introduce PiE, an open-source, end-to-end, user-configurable, scalable, and inexpensive behavior assay system. The PiE system includes the custom-built behavior box to hold a home cage, as well as software enabling continuous video recording and individual behavior box environmental control. To limit experimental disruptions, the PiE system allows the control and monitoring of all aspects of a behavioral experiment using a remote web browser, including real-time video feeds. To allow experiments to scale up, the PiE system provides a web interface where any number of boxes can be controlled, and video data easily synchronized to a remote location. For the scoring of behavior video data, the PiE system includes a standalone desktop application that streamlines the blinded manual scoring of large datasets with a focus on quality control and assay flexibility. The PiE system is ideal for all types of behavior assays in which video is recorded. Users are free to use individual components of this setup independently, or to use the entire pipeline from data collection to analysis. Alpha testers have included scientists without prior coding experience. An example pipeline is demonstrated with the PiE system enabling the user to record home cage maternal behavior assays, synchronize the resulting data, conduct blinded scoring, and import the data into R for data visualization and analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessie Benedict
- The Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Robert H. Cudmore
- Department of Physiology and Membrane Biology, University of California-Davis School of Medicine, Davis, CA, United States
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4
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Fuochi S, Rigamonti M, Raspa M, Scavizzi F, de Girolamo P, D'Angelo L. Data repurposing from digital home cage monitoring enlightens new perspectives on mouse motor behaviour and reduction principle. Sci Rep 2023; 13:10851. [PMID: 37407633 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-37464-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2022] [Accepted: 06/22/2023] [Indexed: 07/07/2023] Open
Abstract
In this longitudinal study we compare between and within-strain variation in the home-cage spatial preference of three widely used and commercially available mice strains-C57BL/6NCrl, BALB/cAnNCrl and CRL:CD1(ICR)-starting from the first hour post cage-change until the next cage-change, for three consecutive intervals, to further profile the circadian home-cage behavioural phenotypes. Cage-change can be a stressful moment in the life of laboratory mice, since animals are disturbed during the sleeping hours and must then rapidly re-adapt to a pristine environment, leading to disruptions in normal motor patterns. The novelty of this study resides in characterizing new strain-specific biological phenomena, such as activity along the cage walls and frontality, using the vast data reserves generated by previous experimental data, thus introducing the potential and exploring the applicability of data repurposing to enhance Reduction principle when running in vivo studies. Our results, entirely obtained without the use of new animals, demonstrate that also when referring to space preference within the cage, C57BL/6NCrl has a high variability in the behavioural phenotypes from pre-puberty until early adulthood compared to BALB/cAnNCrl, which is confirmed to be socially disaggregated, and CRL:CD1(ICR) which is conversely highly active and socially aggregated. Our data also suggest that a strain-oriented approach is needed when defining frequency of cage-change as well as maximum allowed animal density, which should be revised, ideally under the EU regulatory framework as well, according to the physiological peculiarities of the strains, and always avoiding the "one size fits all" approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Fuochi
- Experimental Animal Center, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | | | - Marcello Raspa
- National Research Council, Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology (CNR-IBBC/EMMA/Infrafrontier/IMPC), International Campus 'A. Buzzati-Traverso', Monterotondo, Rome, Italy
| | - Ferdinando Scavizzi
- National Research Council, Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology (CNR-IBBC/EMMA/Infrafrontier/IMPC), International Campus 'A. Buzzati-Traverso', Monterotondo, Rome, Italy
| | - Paolo de Girolamo
- Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | - Livia D'Angelo
- Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy.
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5
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Puukila S, Siu O, Rubinstein L, Tahimic CGT, Lowe M, Tabares Ruiz S, Korostenskij I, Semel M, Iyer J, Mhatre SD, Shirazi-Fard Y, Alwood JS, Paul AM, Ronca AE. Galactic Cosmic Irradiation Alters Acute and Delayed Species-Typical Behavior in Male and Female Mice. Life (Basel) 2023; 13:life13051214. [PMID: 37240858 DOI: 10.3390/life13051214] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2023] [Revised: 04/14/2023] [Accepted: 05/10/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Exposure to space galactic cosmic radiation is a principal consideration for deep space missions. While the effects of space irradiation on the nervous system are not fully known, studies in animal models have shown that exposure to ionizing radiation can cause neuronal damage and lead to downstream cognitive and behavioral deficits. Cognitive health implications put humans and missions at risk, and with the upcoming Artemis missions in which female crew will play a major role, advance critical analysis of the neurological and performance responses of male and female rodents to space radiation is vital. Here, we tested the hypothesis that simulated Galactic Cosmic Radiation (GCRSim) exposure disrupts species-typical behavior in mice, including burrowing, rearing, grooming, and nest-building that depend upon hippocampal and medial prefrontal cortex circuitry. Behavior comprises a remarkably well-integrated representation of the biology of the whole animal that informs overall neural and physiological status, revealing functional impairment. We conducted a systematic dose-response analysis of mature (6-month-old) male and female mice exposed to either 5, 15, or 50 cGy 5-ion GCRSim (H, Si, He, O, Fe) at the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory (NSRL). Behavioral performance was evaluated at 72 h (acute) and 91-days (delayed) postradiation exposure. Specifically, species-typical behavior patterns comprising burrowing, rearing, and grooming as well as nest building were analyzed. A Neuroscore test battery (spontaneous activity, proprioception, vibrissae touch, limb symmetry, lateral turning, forelimb outstretching, and climbing) was performed at the acute timepoint to investigate early sensorimotor deficits postirradiation exposure. Nest construction, a measure of neurological and organizational function in rodents, was evaluated using a five-stage Likert scale 'Deacon' score that ranged from 1 (a low score where the Nestlet is untouched) to 5 (a high score where the Nestlet is completely shredded and shaped into a nest). Differential acute responses were observed in females relative to males with respect to species-typical behavior following 15 cGy exposure while delayed responses were observed in female grooming following 50 cGy exposure. Significant sex differences were observed at both timepoints in nest building. No deficits in sensorimotor behavior were observed via the Neuroscore. This study revealed subtle, sexually dimorphic GCRSim exposure effects on mouse behavior. Our analysis provides a clearer understanding of GCR dose effects on species typical, sensorimotor and organizational behaviors at acute and delayed timeframes postirradiation, thereby setting the stage for the identification of underlying cellular and molecular events.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie Puukila
- Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA
- NASA, Space Biosciences Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
| | - Olivia Siu
- Space Life Sciences Training Program (SLSTP), NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
- Department of Human Factors and Behavioral Neurobiology, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, FL 32114, USA
| | - Linda Rubinstein
- Universities Space Research Association, Columbia, MD 21046, USA
- The Joseph Sagol Neuroscience Center, Sheba Hospital, Ramat Gan 52621, Israel
| | - Candice G T Tahimic
- NASA, Space Biosciences Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
- Department of Biology, University of North Florida, Jacksonville, FL 32224, USA
| | - Moniece Lowe
- NASA, Space Biosciences Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
- Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, Seattle, WA 98154, USA
| | - Steffy Tabares Ruiz
- NASA, Space Biosciences Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
- Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, Seattle, WA 98154, USA
| | - Ivan Korostenskij
- Department of Biology, University of North Florida, Jacksonville, FL 32224, USA
| | - Maya Semel
- Department of Biology, University of North Florida, Jacksonville, FL 32224, USA
| | - Janani Iyer
- NASA, Space Biosciences Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
- Universities Space Research Association, Columbia, MD 21046, USA
- KBR, Houston, TX 77002, USA
| | - Siddhita D Mhatre
- NASA, Space Biosciences Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
- KBR, Houston, TX 77002, USA
| | - Yasaman Shirazi-Fard
- NASA, Space Biosciences Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
| | - Joshua S Alwood
- NASA, Space Biosciences Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
| | - Amber M Paul
- NASA, Space Biosciences Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
- Department of Human Factors and Behavioral Neurobiology, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, FL 32114, USA
- Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, Seattle, WA 98154, USA
| | - April E Ronca
- NASA, Space Biosciences Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
- Wake Forest Medical School, Winston-Salem, NC 27101, USA
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6
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Bains RS, Forrest H, Sillito RR, Armstrong JD, Stewart M, Nolan PM, Wells SE. Longitudinal home-cage automated assessment of climbing behavior shows sexual dimorphism and aging-related decrease in C57BL/6J healthy mice and allows early detection of motor impairment in the N171-82Q mouse model of Huntington's disease. Front Behav Neurosci 2023; 17:1148172. [PMID: 37035623 PMCID: PMC10073658 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2023.1148172] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2023] [Accepted: 03/02/2023] [Indexed: 04/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Monitoring the activity of mice within their home cage is proving to be a powerful tool for revealing subtle and early-onset phenotypes in mouse models. Video-tracking, in particular, lends itself to automated machine-learning technologies that have the potential to improve the manual annotations carried out by humans. This type of recording and analysis is particularly powerful in objective phenotyping, monitoring behaviors with no experimenter intervention. Automated home-cage testing allows the recording of non-evoked voluntary behaviors, which do not require any contact with the animal or exposure to specialist equipment. By avoiding stress deriving from handling, this approach, on the one hand, increases the welfare of experimental animals and, on the other hand, increases the reliability of results excluding confounding effects of stress on behavior. In this study, we show that the monitoring of climbing on the wire cage lid of a standard individually ventilated cage (IVC) yields reproducible data reflecting complex phenotypes of individual mouse inbred strains and of a widely used model of neurodegeneration, the N171-82Q mouse model of Huntington's disease (HD). Measurements in the home-cage environment allowed for the collection of comprehensive motor activity data, which revealed sexual dimorphism, daily biphasic changes, and aging-related decrease in healthy C57BL/6J mice. Furthermore, home-cage recording of climbing allowed early detection of motor impairment in the N171-82Q HD mouse model. Integrating cage-floor activity with cage-lid activity (climbing) has the potential to greatly enhance the characterization of mouse strains, detecting early and subtle signs of disease and increasing reproducibility in preclinical studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rasneer S. Bains
- Mary Lyon Centre at Medical Research Council, Harwell, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom
| | - Hamish Forrest
- Mary Lyon Centre at Medical Research Council, Harwell, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom
| | | | - J. Douglas Armstrong
- Actual Analytics Ltd., Edinburgh, United Kingdom
- School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Michelle Stewart
- Mary Lyon Centre at Medical Research Council, Harwell, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom
| | - Patrick M. Nolan
- Medical Research Council, Harwell Science Campus, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Sara E. Wells
- Mary Lyon Centre at Medical Research Council, Harwell, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom
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7
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Affiliation(s)
- Alicja Puścian
- Nencki-EMBL Partnership for Neural Plasticity and Brain Disorders – BRAINCITY, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology of Polish Academy of Sciences, Pasteur 3 Street, 02-093 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Ewelina Knapska
- Nencki-EMBL Partnership for Neural Plasticity and Brain Disorders – BRAINCITY, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology of Polish Academy of Sciences, Pasteur 3 Street, 02-093 Warsaw, Poland
- Corresponding author
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8
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Bermudez Contreras E, Sutherland RJ, Mohajerani MH, Whishaw IQ. Challenges of a small world analysis for the continuous monitoring of behavior in mice. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 136:104621. [PMID: 35307475 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104621] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2021] [Revised: 02/14/2022] [Accepted: 03/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Documenting a mouse's "real world" behavior in the "small world" of a laboratory cage with continuous video recordings offers insights into phenotypical expression of mouse genotypes, development and aging, and neurological disease. Nevertheless, there are challenges in the design of a small world, the behavior selected for analysis, and the form of the analysis used. Here we offer insights into small world analyses by describing how acute behavioral procedures can guide continuous behavioral methodology. We show how algorithms can identify behavioral acts including walking and rearing, circadian patterns of action including sleep duration and waking activity, and the organization of patterns of movement into home base activity and excursions, and how they are altered with aging. We additionally describe how specific tests can be incorporated within a mouse's living arrangement. We emphasize how machine learning can condense and organize continuous activity that extends over extended periods of time.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Robert J Sutherland
- Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, Canada
| | - Majid H Mohajerani
- Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, Canada.
| | - Ian Q Whishaw
- Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, Canada
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9
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Si Y, Guo C, Xiao F, Mei B, Meng B. Noncognitive species-typical and home-cage behavioral alterations in conditional presenilin 1/presenilin 2 double knockout mice. Behav Brain Res 2021; 418:113652. [PMID: 34758364 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2021.113652] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2021] [Revised: 10/07/2021] [Accepted: 10/31/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Impairments in activities of daily living (ADL) are common clinical symptoms of human Alzheimer's disease (AD). Describing the ADL in AD animal models might provide more insights into the mechanism/treatment of the disease. Here, we demonstrated that the forebrain presenilin 1(Psen1)/presenilin 2 (Psen2) conditional double knockout (DKO) mice exhibited deficits in nest building, marble burying and food burrowing starting at 3 months old and worsening at later ages. At 4 months of age, spontaneous activities in the home cage were also impaired in DKO mice, including physically demanding activities, habituation-like behaviors, and nourishment behaviors during the first two hours in the dark phase. These results indicated that loss of function of Psen1 and Psen2 in mice impaired a series of noncognitive behaviors in the early phase of neurodegeneration. This observation suggests that DKO mice are an ideal model for further mechanistic studies of Psen1 and Psen2 functions in regulating noncognitive behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Youwen Si
- Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics, Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
| | - Chao Guo
- Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics, Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China; Radboud University Medical Centre, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegne, Netherlands
| | - Fan Xiao
- Department of Prosthodontics, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Tongji University, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Tooth Restoration and Regeneration, Shanghai 200072, China
| | - Bing Mei
- Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics, Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China.
| | - Bo Meng
- Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics, Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China.
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10
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Huang K, Han Y, Chen K, Pan H, Zhao G, Yi W, Li X, Liu S, Wei P, Wang L. A hierarchical 3D-motion learning framework for animal spontaneous behavior mapping. Nat Commun 2021; 12:2784. [PMID: 33986265 PMCID: PMC8119960 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-22970-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2020] [Accepted: 04/06/2021] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Animal behavior usually has a hierarchical structure and dynamics. Therefore, to understand how the neural system coordinates with behaviors, neuroscientists need a quantitative description of the hierarchical dynamics of different behaviors. However, the recent end-to-end machine-learning-based methods for behavior analysis mostly focus on recognizing behavioral identities on a static timescale or based on limited observations. These approaches usually lose rich dynamic information on cross-scale behaviors. Here, inspired by the natural structure of animal behaviors, we address this challenge by proposing a parallel and multi-layered framework to learn the hierarchical dynamics and generate an objective metric to map the behavior into the feature space. In addition, we characterize the animal 3D kinematics with our low-cost and efficient multi-view 3D animal motion-capture system. Finally, we demonstrate that this framework can monitor spontaneous behavior and automatically identify the behavioral phenotypes of the transgenic animal disease model. The extensive experiment results suggest that our framework has a wide range of applications, including animal disease model phenotyping and the relationships modeling between the neural circuits and behavior.
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Grants
- This work was supported in part by Key Area R&D Program of Guangdong Province (2018B030338001 P.W., 2018B030331001 L.W.), National Key R&D Program of China (2018YFA0701403 P.W.), National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC 31500861 P.W., NSFC 31630031 L.W., NSFC 91732304 L.W., NSFC 31930047 L.W.), Chang Jiang Scholars Program (L.W.), the International Big Science Program Cultivating Project of CAS (172644KYS820170004 L.W.), the Strategic Priority Research Program of Chinese Academy of Science (XDB32030100, L.W.), the Youth Innovation Promotion Association of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (2017413 P.W.), CAS Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Manipulation (2019DP173024), Shenzhen Government Basic Research Grants (JCYJ20170411140807570 P.W., JCYJ20170413164535041 L.W.), Science, Technology and Innovation Commission of Shenzhen Municipality (JCYJ20160429185235132 K.H.), Helmholtz-CAS joint research grant (GJHZ1508 L.W.), Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Behavior (2017B030301017 L.W.), the Ten Thousand Talent Program (L.W.), the Guangdong Special Support Program (L.W.), Key Laboratory of SIAT (2019DP173024 L.W.), Shenzhen Key Science and Technology Infrastructure Planning Project (ZDKJ20190204002 L.W.).
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Affiliation(s)
- Kang Huang
- Shenzhen Key Lab of Neuropsychiatric Modulation and Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Behavior, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute (BCBDI), Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science-Shenzhen Fundamental Research Institutions, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yaning Han
- Shenzhen Key Lab of Neuropsychiatric Modulation and Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Behavior, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute (BCBDI), Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science-Shenzhen Fundamental Research Institutions, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Ke Chen
- Shenzhen Key Lab of Neuropsychiatric Modulation and Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Behavior, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute (BCBDI), Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science-Shenzhen Fundamental Research Institutions, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Hongli Pan
- Shenzhen Key Lab of Neuropsychiatric Modulation and Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Behavior, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute (BCBDI), Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science-Shenzhen Fundamental Research Institutions, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China
| | - Gaoyang Zhao
- Shenzhen Key Lab of Neuropsychiatric Modulation and Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Behavior, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute (BCBDI), Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science-Shenzhen Fundamental Research Institutions, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Wenling Yi
- Shenzhen Key Lab of Neuropsychiatric Modulation and Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Behavior, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute (BCBDI), Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science-Shenzhen Fundamental Research Institutions, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaoxi Li
- Shenzhen Key Lab of Neuropsychiatric Modulation and Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Behavior, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute (BCBDI), Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science-Shenzhen Fundamental Research Institutions, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Siyuan Liu
- Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Pengfei Wei
- Shenzhen Key Lab of Neuropsychiatric Modulation and Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Behavior, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute (BCBDI), Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science-Shenzhen Fundamental Research Institutions, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China.
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
| | - Liping Wang
- Shenzhen Key Lab of Neuropsychiatric Modulation and Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Behavior, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute (BCBDI), Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science-Shenzhen Fundamental Research Institutions, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China.
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
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11
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Matikainen-Ankney BA, Earnest T, Ali M, Casey E, Wang JG, Sutton AK, Legaria AA, Barclay KM, Murdaugh LB, Norris MR, Chang YH, Nguyen KP, Lin E, Reichenbach A, Clarke RE, Stark R, Conway SM, Carvalho F, Al-Hasani R, McCall JG, Creed MC, Cazares V, Buczynski MW, Krashes MJ, Andrews ZB, Kravitz AV. An open-source device for measuring food intake and operant behavior in rodent home-cages. eLife 2021; 10:66173. [PMID: 33779547 PMCID: PMC8075584 DOI: 10.7554/elife.66173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2021] [Accepted: 03/26/2021] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Feeding is critical for survival, and disruption in the mechanisms that govern food intake underlies disorders such as obesity and anorexia nervosa. It is important to understand both food intake and food motivation to reveal mechanisms underlying feeding disorders. Operant behavioral testing can be used to measure the motivational component to feeding, but most food intake monitoring systems do not measure operant behavior. Here, we present a new solution for monitoring both food intake and motivation in rodent home-cages: the Feeding Experimentation Device version 3 (FED3). FED3 measures food intake and operant behavior in rodent home-cages, enabling longitudinal studies of feeding behavior with minimal experimenter intervention. It has a programmable output for synchronizing behavior with optogenetic stimulation or neural recordings. Finally, FED3 design files are open-source and freely available, allowing researchers to modify FED3 to suit their needs.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Thomas Earnest
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. LouisSt. LouisUnited States
| | - Mohamed Ali
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney DiseasesBethesdaUnited States,Department of Bioengineering, University of MarylandCollege ParkUnited States
| | - Eric Casey
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. LouisSt. LouisUnited States
| | - Justin G Wang
- Department of Neuroscience, Washington University in St. LouisSt. LouisUnited States
| | - Amy K Sutton
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney DiseasesBethesdaUnited States
| | - Alex A Legaria
- Department of Neuroscience, Washington University in St. LouisSt. LouisUnited States
| | - Kia M Barclay
- Department of Neuroscience, Washington University in St. LouisSt. LouisUnited States
| | - Laura B Murdaugh
- Department of Neuroscience, Virginia Polytechnic and State UniversityBlacksburgUnited States
| | - Makenzie R Norris
- Department of Neuroscience, Washington University in St. LouisSt. LouisUnited States,Center for Clinical Pharmacology, University of Health Sciences and PharmacySt. LouisUnited States
| | - Yu-Hsuan Chang
- Department of Neuroscience, Washington University in St. LouisSt. LouisUnited States
| | - Katrina P Nguyen
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney DiseasesBethesdaUnited States
| | - Eric Lin
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. LouisSt. LouisUnited States
| | | | | | - Romana Stark
- Department of Physiology, Monash UniversityClaytonAustralia
| | - Sineadh M Conway
- Center for Clinical Pharmacology, University of Health Sciences and PharmacySt. LouisUnited States,Department of Anesthesiology, Washington University in St. LouisSt. LouisUnited States
| | | | - Ream Al-Hasani
- Center for Clinical Pharmacology, University of Health Sciences and PharmacySt. LouisUnited States,Department of Anesthesiology, Washington University in St. LouisSt. LouisUnited States
| | - Jordan G McCall
- Center for Clinical Pharmacology, University of Health Sciences and PharmacySt. LouisUnited States,Department of Anesthesiology, Washington University in St. LouisSt. LouisUnited States
| | - Meaghan C Creed
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. LouisSt. LouisUnited States,Department of Neuroscience, Washington University in St. LouisSt. LouisUnited States,Department of Anesthesiology, Washington University in St. LouisSt. LouisUnited States
| | - Victor Cazares
- Department of Psychology, Williams CollegeWilliamstownUnited States
| | - Matthew W Buczynski
- Department of Neuroscience, Virginia Polytechnic and State UniversityBlacksburgUnited States
| | - Michael J Krashes
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney DiseasesBethesdaUnited States
| | - Zane B Andrews
- Department of Physiology, Monash UniversityClaytonAustralia
| | - Alexxai V Kravitz
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. LouisSt. LouisUnited States,Department of Neuroscience, Washington University in St. LouisSt. LouisUnited States,Department of Anesthesiology, Washington University in St. LouisSt. LouisUnited States
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12
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Mingrone A, Kaffman A, Kaffman A. The Promise of Automated Home-Cage Monitoring in Improving Translational Utility of Psychiatric Research in Rodents. Front Neurosci 2020; 14:618593. [PMID: 33390898 PMCID: PMC7773806 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2020.618593] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2020] [Accepted: 11/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Large number of promising preclinical psychiatric studies in rodents later fail in clinical trials, raising concerns about the efficacy of this approach to generate novel pharmacological interventions. In this mini-review we argue that over-reliance on behavioral tests that are brief and highly sensitive to external factors play a critical role in this failure and propose that automated home-cage monitoring offers several advantages that will increase the translational utility of preclinical psychiatric research in rodents. We describe three of the most commonly used approaches for automated home cage monitoring in rodents [e.g., operant wall systems (OWS), computerized visual systems (CVS), and automatic motion sensors (AMS)] and review several commercially available systems that integrate the different approaches. Specific examples that demonstrate the advantages of automated home-cage monitoring over traditional tests of anxiety, depression, cognition, and addiction-like behaviors are highlighted. We conclude with recommendations on how to further expand this promising line of preclinical research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alfred Mingrone
- Department of Psychology, Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Ayal Kaffman
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Arie Kaffman
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
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13
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König N, Bimpisidis Z, Dumas S, Wallén-Mackenzie Å. Selective Knockout of the Vesicular Monoamine Transporter 2 ( Vmat2) Gene in Calbindin2/Calretinin-Positive Neurons Results in Profound Changes in Behavior and Response to Drugs of Abuse. Front Behav Neurosci 2020; 14:578443. [PMID: 33240055 PMCID: PMC7680758 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2020.578443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2020] [Accepted: 10/09/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2) has a range of functions in the central nervous system, from sequestering toxins to providing conditions for the quantal release of monoaminergic neurotransmitters. Monoamine signaling regulates diverse functions from arousal to mood, movement, and motivation, and dysregulation of VMAT2 function is implicated in various neuropsychiatric diseases. While all monoamine-releasing neurons express the Vmat2 gene, only a subset is positive for the calcium-binding protein Calbindin 2 (Calb2; aka Calretinin, 29 kDa Calbindin). We recently showed that about half of the dopamine neurons in the mouse midbrain are positive for Calb2 and that Calb2 is an early developmental marker of midbrain dopamine cells. Calb2-positive neurons have also been identified in other monoaminergic areas, yet the role of Calb2-positive monoaminergic neurons is poorly understood. To selectively address the impact of Calb2-positive monoaminergic neurons in behavioral regulation, we took advantage of the Cre-LoxP system to create a new conditional knockout (cKO) mouse line in which Vmat2 expression is deleted selectively in Calb2-Cre-positive neurons. In this Vmat2lox/lox;Calb2−Cre cKO mouse line, gene targeting of Vmat2 was observed in several distinct monoaminergic areas. By comparing control and cKO mice in a series of behavioral tests, specific dissimilarities were identified. In particular, cKO mice were smaller than control mice and showed heightened sensitivity to the stereotypy-inducing effects of amphetamine and slight reductions in preference toward sucrose and ethanol, as well as a blunted response in the elevated plus maze test. These data uncover new knowledge about the role of genetically defined subtypes of neurons in the brain’s monoaminergic systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Niclas König
- Unit of Comparative Physiology, Department of Organismal Biology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Zisis Bimpisidis
- Unit of Comparative Physiology, Department of Organismal Biology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | | | - Åsa Wallén-Mackenzie
- Unit of Comparative Physiology, Department of Organismal Biology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
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14
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Voikar V, Gaburro S. Three Pillars of Automated Home-Cage Phenotyping of Mice: Novel Findings, Refinement, and Reproducibility Based on Literature and Experience. Front Behav Neurosci 2020; 14:575434. [PMID: 33192366 PMCID: PMC7662686 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2020.575434] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2020] [Accepted: 10/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Animal models of neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders require extensive behavioral phenotyping. Currently, this presents several caveats and the most important are: (i) rodents are nocturnal animals, but mostly tested during the light period; (ii) the conventional behavioral experiments take into consideration only a snapshot of a rich behavioral repertoire; and (iii) environmental factors, as well as experimenter influence, are often underestimated. Consequently, serious concerns have been expressed regarding the reproducibility of research findings on the one hand, and appropriate welfare of the animals (based on the principle of 3Rs-reduce, refine and replace) on the other hand. To address these problems and improve behavioral phenotyping in general, several solutions have been proposed and developed. Undisturbed, 24/7 home-cage monitoring (HCM) is gaining increased attention and popularity as demonstrating the potential to substitute or complement the conventional phenotyping methods by providing valuable data for identifying the behavioral patterns that may have been missed otherwise. In this review, we will briefly describe the different technologies used for HCM systems. Thereafter, based on our experience, we will focus on two systems, IntelliCage (NewBehavior AG and TSE-systems) and Digital Ventilated Cage (DVC®, Tecniplast)-how they have been developed and applied during recent years. Additionally, we will touch upon the importance of the environmental/experimenter artifacts and propose alternative suggestions for performing phenotyping experiments based on the published evidence. We will discuss how the integration of telemetry systems for deriving certain physiological parameters can help to complement the description of the animal model to offer better translation to human studies. Ultimately, we will discuss how such HCM data can be statistically interpreted and analyzed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vootele Voikar
- Neuroscience Center, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
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15
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Pace M, Falappa M, Freschi A, Balzani E, Berteotti C, Lo Martire V, Kaveh F, Hovig E, Zoccoli G, Amici R, Cerri M, Urbanucci A, Tucci V. Loss of Snord116 impacts lateral hypothalamus, sleep, and food-related behaviors. JCI Insight 2020; 5:137495. [PMID: 32365348 DOI: 10.1172/jci.insight.137495] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2020] [Accepted: 04/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Imprinted genes are highly expressed in the hypothalamus; however, whether specific imprinted genes affect hypothalamic neuromodulators and their functions is unknown. It has been suggested that Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS), a neurodevelopmental disorder caused by lack of paternal expression at chromosome 15q11-q13, is characterized by hypothalamic insufficiency. Here, we investigate the role of the paternally expressed Snord116 gene within the context of sleep and metabolic abnormalities of PWS, and we report a significant role of this imprinted gene in the function and organization of the 2 main neuromodulatory systems of the lateral hypothalamus (LH) - namely, the orexin (OX) and melanin concentrating hormone (MCH) - systems. We observed that the dynamics between neuronal discharge in the LH and the sleep-wake states of mice with paternal deletion of Snord116 (PWScrm+/p-) are compromised. This abnormal state-dependent neuronal activity is paralleled by a significant reduction in OX neurons in the LH of mutant mice. Therefore, we propose that an imbalance between OX- and MCH-expressing neurons in the LH of mutant mice reflects a series of deficits manifested in the PWS, such as dysregulation of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, food intake, and temperature control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marta Pace
- Genetics and Epigenetics of Behaviour Laboratory, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, via Morego 30, Italy
| | - Matteo Falappa
- Genetics and Epigenetics of Behaviour Laboratory, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, via Morego 30, Italy.,Dipartimento di Neuroscienze, Riabilitazione, Oftalmologia, Genetica e Scienze Materno-Infantili (DINOGMI), Università degli Studi di Genova, Genova, Italy
| | - Andrea Freschi
- Genetics and Epigenetics of Behaviour Laboratory, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, via Morego 30, Italy
| | - Edoardo Balzani
- Genetics and Epigenetics of Behaviour Laboratory, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, via Morego 30, Italy
| | - Chiara Berteotti
- PRISM Lab, Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Viviana Lo Martire
- PRISM Lab, Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Fatemeh Kaveh
- Department of Tumor Biology, Institute for Cancer Research, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Eivind Hovig
- Department of Tumor Biology, Institute for Cancer Research, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.,Centre for Bioinformatics, Department of Informatics, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Giovanna Zoccoli
- PRISM Lab, Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Roberto Amici
- Department of Biomedical and NeuroMotor Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Matteo Cerri
- Department of Biomedical and NeuroMotor Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Alfonso Urbanucci
- Department of Tumor Biology, Institute for Cancer Research, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Valter Tucci
- Genetics and Epigenetics of Behaviour Laboratory, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, via Morego 30, Italy
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16
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Pace M, Colombi I, Falappa M, Freschi A, Bandarabadi M, Armirotti A, Encarnación BM, Adamantidis AR, Amici R, Cerri M, Chiappalone M, Tucci V. Loss of Snord116 alters cortical neuronal activity in mice: a preclinical investigation of Prader–Willi syndrome. Hum Mol Genet 2020; 29:2051-2064. [DOI: 10.1093/hmg/ddaa084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2020] [Revised: 04/26/2020] [Accepted: 04/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Prader–Willi syndrome (PWS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is characterized by metabolic alteration and sleep abnormalities mostly related to rapid eye movement (REM) sleep disturbances. The disease is caused by genomic imprinting defects that are inherited through the paternal line. Among the genes located in the PWS region on chromosome 15 (15q11-q13), small nucleolar RNA 116 (Snord116) has been previously associated with intrusions of REM sleep into wakefulness in humans and mice. Here, we further explore sleep regulation of PWS by reporting a study with PWScrm+/p− mouse line, which carries a paternal deletion of Snord116. We focused our study on both macrostructural electrophysiological components of sleep, distributed among REMs and nonrapid eye movements. Of note, here, we study a novel electroencephalography (EEG) graphoelements of sleep for mouse studies, the well-known spindles. EEG biomarkers are often linked to the functional properties of cortical neurons and can be instrumental in translational studies. Thus, to better understand specific properties, we isolated and characterized the intrinsic activity of cortical neurons using in vitro microelectrode array. Our results confirm that the loss of Snord116 gene in mice influences specific properties of REM sleep, such as theta rhythms and, for the first time, the organization of REM episodes throughout sleep–wake cycles. Moreover, the analysis of sleep spindles present novel specific phenotype in PWS mice, indicating that a new catalog of sleep biomarkers can be informative in preclinical studies of PWS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marta Pace
- Genetics and Epigenetics of Behaviour (GEB), Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Genova 16163, Italy
| | - Ilaria Colombi
- Genetics and Epigenetics of Behaviour (GEB), Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Genova 16163, Italy
- Dipartimento di Neuroscienze, Riabilitazione, Oftalmologia, Genetica e Scienze Materno-Infantili (DINOGMI), Università degli Studi di Genova, Genova 16132, Italy
| | - Matteo Falappa
- Genetics and Epigenetics of Behaviour (GEB), Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Genova 16163, Italy
- Dipartimento di Neuroscienze, Riabilitazione, Oftalmologia, Genetica e Scienze Materno-Infantili (DINOGMI), Università degli Studi di Genova, Genova 16132, Italy
| | - Andrea Freschi
- Genetics and Epigenetics of Behaviour (GEB), Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Genova 16163, Italy
| | - Mojtaba Bandarabadi
- Centre for Experimental Neurology, Department of Neurology, Inselspital University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern 3010, Switzerland
| | - Andrea Armirotti
- Analytical Chemistry Facility, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Genova 16163, Italy
| | | | - Antoine R Adamantidis
- Centre for Experimental Neurology, Department of Neurology, Inselspital University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern 3010, Switzerland
- Department of Clinical Research, Inselspital University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern 3010, Switzerland
| | - Roberto Amici
- Department of Biomedical and NeuroMotor Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum—University of Bologna, Bologna 40126, Italy
| | - Matteo Cerri
- Department of Biomedical and NeuroMotor Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum—University of Bologna, Bologna 40126, Italy
| | - Michela Chiappalone
- Rehab Technologies, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Genova 16163, Italy
| | - Valter Tucci
- Genetics and Epigenetics of Behaviour (GEB), Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Genova 16163, Italy
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17
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Automated Behavioral Experiments in Mice Reveal Periodic Cycles of Task Engagement within Circadian Rhythms. eNeuro 2019; 6:ENEURO.0121-19.2019. [PMID: 31488550 PMCID: PMC6775758 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0121-19.2019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2019] [Revised: 08/21/2019] [Accepted: 08/26/2019] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
High-throughput automated experiments accelerate discovery in neuroscience research and reduce bias. To enable high-throughput behavioral experiments, we developed a user-friendly and scalable automated system that can simultaneously train hundreds of mice on behavioral tasks, with time-stamped behavioral information recorded continuously for weeks. We trained 12 cages of C57BL/6J mice (24 mice, 2 mice/cage) to perform auditory behavioral tasks. We found that circadian rhythms modulated overall behavioral activity as expected for nocturnal animals. However, auditory detection and discrimination accuracy remained consistently high in both light and dark cycles. We also found a periodic modulation of behavioral response rates only during the discrimination task, suggesting that the mice periodically reduce task engagement (i.e., take “breaks”) when task difficulty increases due to the more complex stimulus–response paradigm for discrimination versus detection. Our results highlight how automated systems for continuous high-throughput behavioral experiments enable both efficient data collection and new observations on animal behavior.
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18
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Zhang R, Liu Y, Chen Y, Li Q, Marshall C, Wu T, Hu G, Xiao M. Aquaporin 4 deletion exacerbates brain impairments in a mouse model of chronic sleep disruption. CNS Neurosci Ther 2019; 26:228-239. [PMID: 31364823 PMCID: PMC6978250 DOI: 10.1111/cns.13194] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2018] [Revised: 06/20/2019] [Accepted: 06/26/2019] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
AIMS As a normal physiological process, sleep has recently been shown to facilitate clearance of macromolecular metabolic wastes from the brain via the glymphatic system. The aim of the present study was to investigate pathophysiological roles of astroglial aquaporin 4 (AQP4), a functional regulator of glymphatic clearance, in a mouse model of chronic sleep disruption (SD). METHODS Adult AQP4 null mice and wild-type (WT) mice were given 7 days of SD using the improved rotating rod method, and then received behavioral, neuropathological, and neurochemical analyses. RESULTS Aquaporin 4 deletion resulted in an impairment of glymphatic transport and accumulation of β-amyloid and Tau proteins in the brain following SD. AQP4 null SD mice exhibited severe activation of microglia, neuroinflammation, and synaptic protein loss in the hippocampus, as well as decreased working memory, compared with WT-SD mice. CONCLUSION These results demonstrate that AQP4-mediated glymphatic clearance ameliorates brain impairments caused by abnormal accumulation of metabolic wastes following chronic SD, thus serving as a potential target for sleep-related disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rui Zhang
- Department of Neurology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.,Jiangsu Province, Key Laboratory of Neurodegeneration, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Yun Liu
- Department of Neurology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.,Jiangsu Province, Key Laboratory of Neurodegeneration, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Yan Chen
- Jiangsu Province, Key Laboratory of Neurodegeneration, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.,Brain Institute, the Affiliated Nanjing Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Qian Li
- Jiangsu Province, Key Laboratory of Neurodegeneration, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.,Brain Institute, the Affiliated Nanjing Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Charles Marshall
- Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Kentucky Center of Excellence in Rural Health, Hazard, KY, USA
| | - Ting Wu
- Department of Neurology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.,Jiangsu Province, Key Laboratory of Neurodegeneration, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Gang Hu
- Jiangsu Province, Key Laboratory of Neurodegeneration, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Ming Xiao
- Jiangsu Province, Key Laboratory of Neurodegeneration, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.,Brain Institute, the Affiliated Nanjing Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
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Non-intrusive high throughput automated data collection from the home cage. Heliyon 2019; 5:e01454. [PMID: 30997429 PMCID: PMC6451168 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e01454] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2018] [Revised: 02/25/2019] [Accepted: 03/26/2019] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Automated home cage monitoring represents a key technology to collect animal activity information directly from the home cage. The availability of 24/7 cage data enables extensive and quantitative assessment of mouse behavior and activity over long periods of time than possible otherwise. When home cage monitoring is performed directly at the home cage rack, it is possible to leverage additional advantages, including, e.g., partial (or total) reduction of animal handling, no need for setting up external data collection system as well as not requiring dedicated labs and personnel to perform tests. In this work we introduce a home cage-home rack monitoring system that is capable of continuously detecting spontaneous animal activity occurring in the home cage directly from the home cage rack. The proposed system is based on an electrical capacitance sensing technology that enables non-intrusive and continuous home cage monitoring. We then present a few animal activity metrics that are validated via comparison against a video camera-based tracking system. The results show that the proposed home-cage monitoring system can provide animal activity metrics that are comparable to the ones derived via a conventional video tracking system, with the advantage of system scalability, limited amount of both data generated and computational capabilities required to derive metrics.
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