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Fonio E, Feinerman O. High mirror symmetry in mouse exploratory behavior. Front Behav Neurosci 2024; 18:1381852. [PMID: 38741684 PMCID: PMC11089150 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2024.1381852] [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: 02/04/2024] [Accepted: 04/08/2024] [Indexed: 05/16/2024] Open
Abstract
The physicality of the world in which the animal acts-its anatomical structure, physiology, perception, emotional states, and cognitive capabilities-determines the boundaries of the behavioral space within which the animal can operate. Behavior, therefore, can be considered as the subspace that remains after secluding all actions that are not available to the animal due to constraints. The very signature of being a certain creature is reflected in these limitations that shape its behavior. A major goal of ethology is to expose those constraints that carve the intricate structure of animal behavior and reveal both uniqueness and commonalities between animals within and across taxa. Exploratory behavior in an empty arena seems to be stochastic; nevertheless, it does not mean that the moving animal is a random walker. In this study, we present how, by adding constraints to the animal's locomotion, one can gradually retain the 'mousiness' that characterizes the behaving mouse. We then introduce a novel phenomenon of high mirror symmetry along the locomotion of mice, which highlights another constraint that further compresses the complex nature of exploratory behavior in these animals. We link these findings to a known neural mechanism that could explain this phenomenon. Finally, we suggest our novel finding and derived methods to be used in the search for commonalities in the motion trajectories of various organisms across taxa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ehud Fonio
- Department of Physics of Complex Systems, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
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2
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Grieco F, Bernstein BJ, Biemans B, Bikovski L, Burnett CJ, Cushman JD, van Dam EA, Fry SA, Richmond-Hacham B, Homberg JR, Kas MJH, Kessels HW, Koopmans B, Krashes MJ, Krishnan V, Logan S, Loos M, McCann KE, Parduzi Q, Pick CG, Prevot TD, Riedel G, Robinson L, Sadighi M, Smit AB, Sonntag W, Roelofs RF, Tegelenbosch RAJ, Noldus LPJJ. Measuring Behavior in the Home Cage: Study Design, Applications, Challenges, and Perspectives. Front Behav Neurosci 2021; 15:735387. [PMID: 34630052 PMCID: PMC8498589 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2021.735387] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2021] [Accepted: 08/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The reproducibility crisis (or replication crisis) in biomedical research is a particularly existential and under-addressed issue in the field of behavioral neuroscience, where, in spite of efforts to standardize testing and assay protocols, several known and unknown sources of confounding environmental factors add to variance. Human interference is a major contributor to variability both within and across laboratories, as well as novelty-induced anxiety. Attempts to reduce human interference and to measure more "natural" behaviors in subjects has led to the development of automated home-cage monitoring systems. These systems enable prolonged and longitudinal recordings, and provide large continuous measures of spontaneous behavior that can be analyzed across multiple time scales. In this review, a diverse team of neuroscientists and product developers share their experiences using such an automated monitoring system that combines Noldus PhenoTyper® home-cages and the video-based tracking software, EthoVision® XT, to extract digital biomarkers of motor, emotional, social and cognitive behavior. After presenting our working definition of a "home-cage", we compare home-cage testing with more conventional out-of-cage tests (e.g., the open field) and outline the various advantages of the former, including opportunities for within-subject analyses and assessments of circadian and ultradian activity. Next, we address technical issues pertaining to the acquisition of behavioral data, such as the fine-tuning of the tracking software and the potential for integration with biotelemetry and optogenetics. Finally, we provide guidance on which behavioral measures to emphasize, how to filter, segment, and analyze behavior, and how to use analysis scripts. We summarize how the PhenoTyper has applications to study neuropharmacology as well as animal models of neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric illness. Looking forward, we examine current challenges and the impact of new developments. Examples include the automated recognition of specific behaviors, unambiguous tracking of individuals in a social context, the development of more animal-centered measures of behavior and ways of dealing with large datasets. Together, we advocate that by embracing standardized home-cage monitoring platforms like the PhenoTyper, we are poised to directly assess issues pertaining to reproducibility, and more importantly, measure features of rodent behavior under more ethologically relevant scenarios.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Briana J Bernstein
- Neurobiology Laboratory, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Research Triangle Park, NC, United States
| | | | - Lior Bikovski
- Myers Neuro-Behavioral Core Facility, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- School of Behavioral Sciences, Netanya Academic College, Netanya, Israel
| | - C Joseph Burnett
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States
| | - Jesse D Cushman
- Neurobiology Laboratory, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Research Triangle Park, NC, United States
| | | | - Sydney A Fry
- Neurobiology Laboratory, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Research Triangle Park, NC, United States
| | - Bar Richmond-Hacham
- Department of Anatomy and Anthropology, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Judith R Homberg
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Martien J H Kas
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Helmut W Kessels
- Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | | | - Michael J Krashes
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States
| | - Vaishnav Krishnan
- Laboratory of Epilepsy and Emotional Behavior, Baylor Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, Departments of Neurology, Neuroscience, and Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States
| | - Sreemathi Logan
- Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Allied Health, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, United States
| | - Maarten Loos
- Sylics (Synaptologics BV), Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Katharine E McCann
- Neurobiology Laboratory, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Research Triangle Park, NC, United States
| | | | - Chaim G Pick
- Department of Anatomy and Anthropology, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- The Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson Chair and Center for the Biology of Addictive Diseases, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Thomas D Prevot
- Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Gernot Riedel
- Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, United Kingdom
| | - Lianne Robinson
- Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, United Kingdom
| | - Mina Sadighi
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - August B Smit
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Neurobiology, Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - William Sonntag
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Center for Geroscience, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, United States
| | | | | | - Lucas P J J Noldus
- Noldus Information Technology BV, Wageningen, Netherlands
- Department of Biophysics, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
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3
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Donnarumma F, Prevete R, Maisto D, Fuscone S, Irvine EM, van der Meer MAA, Kemere C, Pezzulo G. A framework to identify structured behavioral patterns within rodent spatial trajectories. Sci Rep 2021; 11:468. [PMID: 33432100 PMCID: PMC7801653 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-79744-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2020] [Accepted: 11/10/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Animal behavior is highly structured. Yet, structured behavioral patterns-or "statistical ethograms"-are not immediately apparent from the full spatiotemporal data that behavioral scientists usually collect. Here, we introduce a framework to quantitatively characterize rodent behavior during spatial (e.g., maze) navigation, in terms of movement building blocks or motor primitives. The hypothesis that we pursue is that rodent behavior is characterized by a small number of motor primitives, which are combined over time to produce open-ended movements. We assume motor primitives to be organized in terms of two sparsity principles: each movement is controlled using a limited subset of motor primitives (sparse superposition) and each primitive is active only for time-limited, time-contiguous portions of movements (sparse activity). We formalize this hypothesis using a sparse dictionary learning method, which we use to extract motor primitives from rodent position and velocity data collected during spatial navigation, and successively to reconstruct past trajectories and predict novel ones. Three main results validate our approach. First, rodent behavioral trajectories are robustly reconstructed from incomplete data, performing better than approaches based on standard dimensionality reduction methods, such as principal component analysis, or single sparsity. Second, the motor primitives extracted during one experimental session generalize and afford the accurate reconstruction of rodent behavior across successive experimental sessions in the same or in modified mazes. Third, in our approach the number of motor primitives associated with each maze correlates with independent measures of maze complexity, hence showing that our formalism is sensitive to essential aspects of task structure. The framework introduced here can be used by behavioral scientists and neuroscientists as an aid for behavioral and neural data analysis. Indeed, the extracted motor primitives enable the quantitative characterization of the complexity and similarity between different mazes and behavioral patterns across multiple trials (i.e., habit formation). We provide example uses of this computational framework, showing how it can be used to identify behavioural effects of maze complexity, analyze stereotyped behavior, classify behavioral choices and predict place and grid cell displacement in novel environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesco Donnarumma
- Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies (ISTC), National Research Council (CNR), Via San Martino della Battaglia 44, 00185, Rome, Italy
| | - Roberto Prevete
- Department of Electric Engineering and Information Technologies (DIETI), Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | - Domenico Maisto
- Institute for High Performance Computing and Networking (ICAR), National Research Council (CNR), Via Pietro Castellino 111, 80131, Naples, Italy
| | | | - Emily M Irvine
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA
| | | | - Caleb Kemere
- Electrical and Computer Engineering, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Giovanni Pezzulo
- Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies (ISTC), National Research Council (CNR), Via San Martino della Battaglia 44, 00185, Rome, Italy.
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Frostig T, Alonim H, Scheingesicht G, Benjamini Y, Golani I. Exploration in the Presence of Mother in Typically and Non-typically Developing Pre-walking Human Infants. Front Behav Neurosci 2020; 14:580972. [PMID: 33281573 PMCID: PMC7691591 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2020.580972] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2020] [Accepted: 10/13/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
In previous phenotyping studies of mouse and rat exploratory behavior we developed a computational exploratory data analysis methodology including videotaping, tracking, preparatory methods for customized data analysis, a methodology for improving the replicability of results across laboratories, and algorithmic design for exposing the natural reference places (origins) used by animals during exploration. We then measured the animals' paths in reference to these origins, revealing robust, highly replicable modules termed excursions, which are performed from the origin into the environment and back to the origin. Origin-related exploration has been claimed to be phylogenetically conserved across the vertebrates. In the current study we use the same methodology to examine whether origin-related exploration has also been conserved in human pre-walking typically developing (TD) and a group of non-typically developing (NTD) infants in the presence of their stationary mother. The NTDs had been referred to a center for the early treatment of autism in infancy by pediatric neurologists and clinicians. The TDs established a reference place (origin) at mother's place and exhibited a modular partitioning of their path into excursions performed in reference to mother, visiting her often, and reaching closely. In contrast, the NTDs did not establish a distinct origin at the mother's place, or any other place, and did not partition the exploratory path into excursions. Once this difference is validated, the differences between the human infant groups may serve as an early referral tool for child development specialists. The absence of distinct modularity in human infants at risk of autism spectrum disorder can guide the search for animal models for this disorder in translational research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tzviel Frostig
- Department of Statistic and Operations Research, School of Mathematical Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Hanna Alonim
- The Mifne Center, Rosh Pinna, Israel
- Bar Ilan University, School of Social Work, Ramat-Gan, Israel
| | | | - Yoav Benjamini
- The Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- School of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Ilan Golani
- The Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- School of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
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5
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Monaco JD, De Guzman RM, Blair HT, Zhang K. Spatial synchronization codes from coupled rate-phase neurons. PLoS Comput Biol 2019; 15:e1006741. [PMID: 30682012 PMCID: PMC6364943 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1006741] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2018] [Revised: 02/06/2019] [Accepted: 12/21/2018] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
During spatial navigation, the frequency and timing of spikes from spatial neurons including place cells in hippocampus and grid cells in medial entorhinal cortex are temporally organized by continuous theta oscillations (6-11 Hz). The theta rhythm is regulated by subcortical structures including the medial septum, but it is unclear how spatial information from place cells may reciprocally organize subcortical theta-rhythmic activity. Here we recorded single-unit spiking from a constellation of subcortical and hippocampal sites to study spatial modulation of rhythmic spike timing in rats freely exploring an open environment. Our analysis revealed a novel class of neurons that we termed 'phaser cells,' characterized by a symmetric coupling between firing rate and spike theta-phase. Phaser cells encoded space by assigning distinct phases to allocentric isocontour levels of each cell's spatial firing pattern. In our dataset, phaser cells were predominantly located in the lateral septum, but also the hippocampus, anteroventral thalamus, lateral hypothalamus, and nucleus accumbens. Unlike the unidirectional late-to-early phase precession of place cells, bidirectional phase modulation acted to return phaser cells to the same theta-phase along a given spatial isocontour, including cells that characteristically shifted to later phases at higher firing rates. Our dynamical models of intrinsic theta-bursting neurons demonstrated that experience-independent temporal coding mechanisms can qualitatively explain (1) the spatial rate-phase relationships of phaser cells and (2) the observed temporal segregation of phaser cells according to phase-shift direction. In open-field phaser cell simulations, competitive learning embedded phase-code entrainment maps into the weights of downstream targets, including path integration networks. Bayesian phase decoding revealed error correction capable of resetting path integration at subsecond timescales. Our findings suggest that phaser cells may instantiate a subcortical theta-rhythmic loop of spatial feedback. We outline a framework in which location-dependent synchrony reconciles internal idiothetic processes with the allothetic reference points of sensory experience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph D. Monaco
- Biomedical Engineering Department, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Rose M. De Guzman
- Psychology Department, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Hugh T. Blair
- Psychology Department, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Kechen Zhang
- Biomedical Engineering Department, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
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6
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Klein CP, Dos Santos Rodrigues K, Hözer RM, de Sá Couto-Pereira N, Saccomori AB, Dal Magro BM, Crestani MS, Hoppe JB, Salbego CG, Dalmaz C, Matté C. Swimming exercise before and during pregnancy: Promising preventive approach to impact offspring´s health. Int J Dev Neurosci 2018; 71:83-93. [PMID: 30172896 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijdevneu.2018.08.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2018] [Revised: 08/25/2018] [Accepted: 08/27/2018] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Several environmental factors affect child development, such as the intrauterine environment during the embryonic and fetal development and early postnatal environment provided by maternal behavior. Although mechanistic effects of maternal exercise on offspring health improvement are not yet completely understood, the number of reports published demonstrating the positive influence of maternal exercise have increase. Herein, we addressed issues related to early postnatal environment provided by maternal behavior and early developmental physical landmarks, sensorimotor reflexes, and motor movements ontogeny. In brief, adult female rats underwent involuntary swimming exercise, in a moderated intensity, one week before mating and throughout pregnancy, 30 min a day, 5 days a week. Maternal exercised dams have unchanged gestational outcomes compared to sedentary dams. We found no differences concerning the frequency of pup-directed behavior displayed by dams. However, sedentary dams displayed a poorer pattern of maternal care quality during dark cycle than exercised dams. Physical landmarks and sensorimotor reflexes development of female and male littermates did not differ between maternal groups. Developmental motor parameters such as immobility, lateral head movements, head elevation, pivoting, rearing with forelimb support and crawling frequencies did not differ between groups. Pups born to exercised dams presented higher frequency of walking and rearing on the hind legs. These data suggest that female and male littermates of exercised group present a high frequency of exploratory behavior over sedentary littermates. Taken together, the present findings reinforce that maternal exercise throughout pregnancy represent a window of opportunity to improve offspring's postnatal health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caroline Peres Klein
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Biológicas-Bioquímica, Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
| | - Karoline Dos Santos Rodrigues
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Biológicas-Bioquímica, Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
| | - Régis Mateus Hözer
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Biológicas-Bioquímica, Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
| | - Natividade de Sá Couto-Pereira
- Programa de Pós-graduação em Neurociências, Instituto de Ciências Básicas, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
| | - André Brum Saccomori
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
| | - Bárbara Mariño Dal Magro
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
| | - Mariana Scortegagna Crestani
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
| | - Juliana Bender Hoppe
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Biológicas-Bioquímica, Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
| | - Christianne Gazzana Salbego
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Biológicas-Bioquímica, Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil; Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
| | - Carla Dalmaz
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Biológicas-Bioquímica, Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil; Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil; Programa de Pós-graduação em Neurociências, Instituto de Ciências Básicas, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
| | - Cristiane Matté
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Biológicas-Bioquímica, Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil; Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil; Programa de Pós-graduação em Fisiologia, Instituto de Ciências Básicas, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
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7
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Thompson SM, Berkowitz LE, Clark BJ. Behavioral and Neural Subsystems of Rodent Exploration. LEARNING AND MOTIVATION 2018; 61:3-15. [PMID: 30270939 PMCID: PMC6159932 DOI: 10.1016/j.lmot.2017.03.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Animals occupy territories in which resources such as food and shelter are often distributed unevenly. While studies of exploratory behavior have typically involved the laboratory rodent as an experimental subject, questions regarding what constitutes exploration have dominated. A recent line of research has utilized a descriptive approach to the study of rodent exploration, which has revealed that this behavior is organized into movement subsystems that can be readily quantified. The movements include home base behavior, which serves as a central point of attraction from which rats and mice organize exploratory trips into the remaining environment. In this review, we describe some of the features of this organized behavior pattern as well as its modulation by sensory cues and previous experience. We conclude the review by summarizing research investigating the neurobiological bases of exploration, which we hope will stimulate renewed interest and research on the neural systems mediating rodent exploratory behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Laura E. Berkowitz
- Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico
| | - Benjamin J. Clark
- Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico
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8
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Kafkafi N, Agassi J, Chesler EJ, Crabbe JC, Crusio WE, Eilam D, Gerlai R, Golani I, Gomez-Marin A, Heller R, Iraqi F, Jaljuli I, Karp NA, Morgan H, Nicholson G, Pfaff DW, Richter SH, Stark PB, Stiedl O, Stodden V, Tarantino LM, Tucci V, Valdar W, Williams RW, Würbel H, Benjamini Y. Reproducibility and replicability of rodent phenotyping in preclinical studies. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2018; 87:218-232. [PMID: 29357292 PMCID: PMC6071910 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.01.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 116] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2016] [Revised: 12/13/2017] [Accepted: 01/11/2018] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
The scientific community is increasingly concerned with the proportion of
published “discoveries” that are not replicated in subsequent
studies. The field of rodent behavioral phenotyping was one of the first to
raise this concern, and to relate it to other methodological issues: the complex
interaction between genotype and environment; the definitions of behavioral
constructs; and the use of laboratory mice and rats as model species for
investigating human health and disease mechanisms. In January 2015, researchers
from various disciplines gathered at Tel Aviv University to discuss these
issues. The general consensus was that the issue is prevalent and of concern,
and should be addressed at the statistical, methodological and policy levels,
but is not so severe as to call into question the validity and the usefulness of
model organisms as a whole. Well-organized community efforts, coupled with
improved data and metadata sharing, have a key role in identifying specific
problems and promoting effective solutions. Replicability is closely related to
validity, may affect generalizability and translation of findings, and has
important ethical implications.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - John C Crabbe
- Oregon Health & Science University, and VA Portland Health Care System, United States
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Natasha A Karp
- Discovery Sciences, IMED Biotech Unit, AstraZeneca, Cambridge, UK
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - William Valdar
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, United States
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9
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Generative rules of Drosophila locomotor behavior as a candidate homology across phyla. Sci Rep 2016; 6:27555. [PMID: 27271799 PMCID: PMC4897781 DOI: 10.1038/srep27555] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2015] [Accepted: 05/17/2016] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
The discovery of shared behavioral processes across phyla is a significant step in the establishment of a comparative study of behavior. We use immobility as an origin and reference for the measurement of fly locomotor behavior; speed, walking direction and trunk orientation as the degrees of freedom shaping this behavior; and cocaine as the parameter inducing progressive transitions in and out of immobility. We characterize and quantify the generative rules that shape Drosophila locomotor behavior, bringing about a gradual buildup of kinematic degrees of freedom during the transition from immobility to normal behavior, and the opposite narrowing down into immobility. Transitions into immobility unfold via sequential enhancement and then elimination of translation, curvature and finally rotation. Transitions out of immobility unfold by progressive addition of these degrees of freedom in the opposite order. The same generative rules have been found in vertebrate locomotor behavior in several contexts (pharmacological manipulations, ontogeny, social interactions) involving transitions in-and-out of immobility. Recent claims for deep homology between arthropod central complex and vertebrate basal ganglia provide an opportunity to examine whether the rules we report also share common descent. Our approach prompts the discovery of behavioral homologies, contributing to the elusive problem of behavioral evolution.
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10
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Cohen S, Benjamini Y, Golani I. Coping with Space Neophobia in Drosophila melanogaster: The Asymmetric Dynamics of Crossing a Doorway to the Untrodden. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0140207. [PMID: 26646394 PMCID: PMC4672930 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0140207] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2015] [Accepted: 08/25/2015] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
We discover and examine within a wide phylogenetic perspective spatial neophobia, avoidance of untrodden terrain, in fruit flies, in an experimental setup that reduces the gap between the field and the laboratory. In our setup, fruit flies use a natal fruit as their origin, freely exploring for days their surroundings, which consists of a mixture of trodden and untrodden terrain. The interface between trodden and untrodden is, however, reduced in our setup to a wide doorway, opened within a surrounding wall. Crossing this doorway, characterized by a sharp contrast interface between trodden and untrodden, generates a behavior whose dynamics betrays the flies' space neophobia. The moment-by-moment dynamics of crossing is remarkably similar to that reported in mouse models of anxiety. This means that neophobic behavior is either homologous across arthropods and vertebrates or, not less interesting, convergent, whereby the same behavior is mediated in the two phyla by two completely different schemata.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shay Cohen
- Department of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Yoav Benjamini
- Department of Statistics and OR, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Ilan Golani
- Department of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- * E-mail:
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Peters SM, Pothuizen HHJ, Spruijt BM. Ethological concepts enhance the translational value of animal models. Eur J Pharmacol 2015; 759:42-50. [PMID: 25823814 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2015.03.043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2015] [Revised: 02/25/2015] [Accepted: 03/12/2015] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
The translational value of animal models is an issue of ongoing discussion. We argue that 'Refinement' of animal experiments is needed and this can be achieved by exploiting an ethological approach when setting up and conducting experiments. Ethology aims to assess the functional meaning of behavioral changes, due to experimental manipulation or treatment, in animal models. Although the use of ethological concepts is particularly important for studies involving the measurement of animal behavior (as is the case for most studies on neuro-psychiatric conditions), it will also substantially benefit other disciplines, such as those investigating the immune system or inflammatory response. Using an ethological approach also involves using more optimal testing conditions are employed that have a biological relevance to the animal. Moreover, using a more biological relevant analysis of the data will help to clarify the functional meaning of the modeled readout (e.g. whether it is psychopathological or adaptive in nature). We advocate for instance that more behavioral studies should use animals in group-housed conditions, including the recording of their ultrasonic vocalizations, because (1) social behavior is an essential feature of animal models for human 'social' psychopathologies, such as autism and schizophrenia, and (2) social conditions are indispensable conditions for appropriate behavioral studies in social species, such as the rat. Only when taking these elements into account, the validity of animal experiments and, thus, the translation value of animal models can be enhanced.
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Affiliation(s)
- Suzanne M Peters
- Faculty of Science, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, NL-3584 CH Utrecht, The Netherlands; Delta Phenomics B.V., Nistelrooisebaan 3, NL-5374 RE Schaijk, The Netherlands.
| | - Helen H J Pothuizen
- Delta Phenomics B.V., Nistelrooisebaan 3, NL-5374 RE Schaijk, The Netherlands
| | - Berry M Spruijt
- Faculty of Science, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, NL-3584 CH Utrecht, The Netherlands.
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Ballester González J, Dvorkin-Gheva A, Silva C, Foster JA, Szechtman H. Nucleus accumbens core and pathogenesis of compulsive checking. Behav Pharmacol 2015; 26:200-16. [PMID: 25426580 PMCID: PMC5398318 DOI: 10.1097/fbp.0000000000000112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2014] [Accepted: 10/16/2014] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
To investigate the role of the nucleus accumbens core (NAc) in the development of quinpirole-induced compulsive checking, rats received an excitotoxic lesion of NAc or sham lesion and were injected with quinpirole (0.5 mg/kg) or saline; development of checking behavior was monitored for 10 biweekly tests. The results showed that even after the NAc lesion, quinpirole still induced compulsive checking, suggesting that the pathogenic effects produced by quinpirole lie outside the NAc. Although the NAc lesion did not prevent the induction of compulsive checking, it altered how quickly it develops, suggesting that the NAc normally contributes toward the induction of compulsive checking. Saline-treated rats with an NAc lesion were hyperactive, but did not develop compulsive checking, indicating that hyperactivity by itself is not sufficient for the pathogenesis of compulsive checking. It is proposed that compulsive checking is the exaggerated output of a security motivation system and that the NAc serves as a neural hub for coordinating the orderly activity of neural modules of this motivational system. Evidence is considered suggesting that the neurobiological condition for the pathogenesis of compulsive checking is two-fold: activation of dopamine D2/D3 receptors without concurrent stimulation of D1-like receptors and long-term plastic changes related to quinpirole-induced sensitization.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Anna Dvorkin-Gheva
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Charmaine Silva
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Jane A. Foster
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Henry Szechtman
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
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Reproducibility and relevance of future behavioral sciences should benefit from a cross fertilization of past recommendations and today's technology: "Back to the future". J Neurosci Methods 2014; 234:2-12. [PMID: 24632384 DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2014.03.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2013] [Revised: 03/03/2014] [Accepted: 03/04/2014] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Thanks to the discovery of novel technologies and sophisticated analysis tools we can now 'see' molecules, genes and even patterns of gene expression, which have resulted in major advances in many areas of biology. Recently, similar technologies have been developed for behavioral studies. However, the wide implementation of such technological progress in behavioral research remains behind, as if there are inhibiting factors for accepting and adopting available innovations. The methods of the majority of studies measuring and interpreting behavior of laboratory animals seem to have frozen in time somewhere in the last century. As an example of the so-called classical tests, we will present the history and shortcomings of one of the most frequently used tests, the open field. Similar objections and critical remarks, however, can be made with regard to the elevated plus maze, light-dark box, various other mazes, object recognition tests, etc. Possible solutions and recommendations on how progress in behavioral neuroscience can be achieved and accelerated will be discussed in the second part of this review.
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