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Madhav MS, Jayakumar RP, Lashkari SG, Savelli F, Blair HT, Knierim JJ, Cowan NJ. The Dome: A virtual reality apparatus for freely locomoting rodents. J Neurosci Methods 2021; 368:109336. [PMID: 34453979 PMCID: PMC9178503 DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2021.109336] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2021] [Revised: 08/09/2021] [Accepted: 08/20/2021] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
The cognitive map in the hippocampal formation of rodents and other mammals integrates multiple classes of sensory and motor information into a coherent representation of space. Here, we describe the Dome, a virtual reality apparatus for freely locomoting rats, designed to examine the relative contributions of various spatial inputs to an animal’s spatial representation. The Dome was designed to preserve the range of spatial inputs typically available to an animal in free, untethered locomotion while providing the ability to perturb specific sensory cues. We present the design rationale and corresponding specifications of the Dome, along with a variety of engineering and biological analyses to validate the efficacy of the Dome as an experimental tool to examine the interaction between visual information and path integration in place cells in rodents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manu S Madhav
- Mind/Brain Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; Kavli Neuroscience Discovery Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; Laboratory for Computational Sensing and Robotics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; School of Biomedical Engineering, Djawad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, BC, Canada.
| | - Ravikrishnan P Jayakumar
- Mind/Brain Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; Laboratory for Computational Sensing and Robotics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; Mechanical Engineering Department, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Shahin G Lashkari
- Laboratory for Computational Sensing and Robotics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; Mechanical Engineering Department, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Francesco Savelli
- Mind/Brain Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; Francesco Savelli is currently affiliated with the Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA
| | - Hugh T Blair
- Department of Psychology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - James J Knierim
- Mind/Brain Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; Kavli Neuroscience Discovery Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Noah J Cowan
- Laboratory for Computational Sensing and Robotics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; Mechanical Engineering Department, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
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Palmer D, Dumont JR, Dexter TD, Prado MAM, Finger E, Bussey TJ, Saksida LM. Touchscreen cognitive testing: Cross-species translation and co-clinical trials in neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disease. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2021; 182:107443. [PMID: 33895351 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2021.107443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2020] [Revised: 02/06/2021] [Accepted: 02/26/2021] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Translating results from pre-clinical animal studies to successful human clinical trials in neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disease presents a significant challenge. While this issue is clearly multifaceted, the lack of reproducibility and poor translational validity of many paradigms used to assess cognition in animal models are central contributors to this challenge. Computer-automated cognitive test batteries have the potential to substantially improve translation between pre-clinical studies and clinical trials by increasing both reproducibility and translational validity. Given the structured nature of data output, computer-automated tests also lend themselves to increased data sharing and other open science good practices. Over the past two decades, computer automated, touchscreen-based cognitive testing methods have been developed for non-human primate and rodent models. These automated methods lend themselves to increased standardization, hence reproducibility, and have become increasingly important for the elucidation of the neurobiological basis of cognition in animal models. More recently, there have been increased efforts to use these methods to enhance translational validity by developing task batteries that are nearly identical across different species via forward (i.e., translating animal tasks to humans) and reverse (i.e., translating human tasks to animals) translation. An additional benefit of the touchscreen approach is that a cross-species cognitive test battery makes it possible to implement co-clinical trials-an approach developed initially in cancer research-for novel treatments for neurodegenerative disorders. Co-clinical trials bring together pre-clinical and early clinical studies, which facilitates testing of novel treatments in mouse models with underlying genetic or other changes, and can help to stratify patients on the basis of genetic, molecular, or cognitive criteria. This approach can help to determine which patients should be enrolled in specific clinical trials and can facilitate repositioning and/or repurposing of previously approved drugs. This has the potential to mitigate the resources required to study treatment responses in large numbers of human patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Palmer
- Robarts Research Institute, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada; Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada.
| | - Julie R Dumont
- Robarts Research Institute, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada; BrainsCAN, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada
| | - Tyler D Dexter
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada; Graduate Program in Neuroscience, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada
| | - Marco A M Prado
- Robarts Research Institute, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada; Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada; Graduate Program in Neuroscience, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada; Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada
| | - Elizabeth Finger
- Robarts Research Institute, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada; Department of Clinical Neurological Sciences, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada; Lawson Health Research Institute, Ontario, Canada; Parkwood Institute, St. Josephs Health Care, Ontario, Canada
| | - Timothy J Bussey
- Robarts Research Institute, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada; Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada; Brain and Mind Institute, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada
| | - Lisa M Saksida
- Robarts Research Institute, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada; Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada; Brain and Mind Institute, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada
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