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Boele HJ, Jung C, Sherry S, Roggeveen LEM, Dijkhuizen S, Öhman J, Abraham E, Uvarov A, Boele CP, Gultig K, Rasmussen A, Vinueza-Veloz MF, Medina JF, Koekkoek SKE, De Zeeuw CI, Wang SSH. Accessible and reliable neurometric testing in humans using a smartphone platform. Sci Rep 2023; 13:22871. [PMID: 38129487 PMCID: PMC10739701 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-49568-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2023] [Accepted: 12/09/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Tests of human brain circuit function typically require fixed equipment in lab environments. We have developed a smartphone-based platform for neurometric testing. This platform, which uses AI models like computer vision, is optimized for at-home use and produces reproducible, robust results on a battery of tests, including eyeblink conditioning, prepulse inhibition of acoustic startle response, and startle habituation. This approach provides a scalable, universal resource for quantitative assays of central nervous system function.
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Affiliation(s)
- H J Boele
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton, USA.
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
| | - C Jung
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton, USA
| | - S Sherry
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton, USA
| | - L E M Roggeveen
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Neuroscience, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - S Dijkhuizen
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - J Öhman
- Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - E Abraham
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton, USA
| | | | - C P Boele
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - K Gultig
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - A Rasmussen
- Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - M F Vinueza-Veloz
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Community Medicine and Global Health, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - J F Medina
- Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, USA
| | - S K E Koekkoek
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - C I De Zeeuw
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - S S-H Wang
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton, USA.
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Boele HJ, Joung S, Fil JE, Mudd AT, Fleming SA, Koekkoek SKE, Dilger RN. Young Domestic Pigs (Sus scrofa) Can Perform Pavlovian Eyeblink Conditioning. Front Behav Neurosci 2021; 15:690019. [PMID: 34267630 PMCID: PMC8275650 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2021.690019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2021] [Accepted: 06/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction: Pigs have been an increasingly popular preclinical model in nutritional neuroscience, as their anatomy, physiology, and nutrition requirements are highly comparable to those of humans. Eyeblink conditioning is one of the most well-validated behavioral paradigms in neuroscience to study underlying mechanisms of learning and memory formation in the cerebellum. Eyeblink conditioning has been performed in many species but has never been done on young pigs. Therefore, our aim here was to develop and validate an eyeblink conditioning paradigm in young pigs. Method: Eighteen intact male pigs were artificially reared from postnatal day 2-30. The eyeblink conditioning setup consisted of a sound-damping box with a hammock that pigs were placed in, which allowed the pig to remain comfortable yet maintain a typical range of head motion. In a delay conditioning paradigm, the conditional stimulus (CS) was a 550 ms blue light-emitting diode (LED), the unconditional stimulus (US) was a 50 ms eye air-puff, the CS-US interval was 500 ms. Starting at postnatal day 14, pigs were habituated for 5 days to the eyeblink conditioning setup, followed by 5 daily sessions of acquisition training (40 paired CS-US trials each day). Results: The group-averaged amplitude of conditioned eyelid responses gradually increased over the course of the 5 days of training, indicating that pigs learned to make the association between the LED light CS and the air-puff US. A similar increase was found for the conditioned response (CR) probability: the group-averaged CR probability on session 1 was about 12% and reached a CR probability of 55% on day 5. The latency to CR peak time lacked a temporal preference in the first session but clearly showed preference from the moment that animals started to show more CRs in session 2 and onwards whereby the eyelid was maximally closed exactly at the moment that the US would be delivered. Conclusion: We concluded that 3-week-old pigs have the capability of performing in a cerebellar classical conditioning task, demonstrating for the first time that eyeblink conditioning in young pigs has the potential to be a valuable behavioral tool to measure neurodevelopment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Henk-Jan Boele
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Netherlands.,Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton, NJ, United States
| | - Sangyun Joung
- Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, United States
| | - Joanne E Fil
- Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, United States
| | - Austin T Mudd
- Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, United States
| | - Stephen A Fleming
- Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, United States
| | | | - Ryan N Dilger
- Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, United States.,Department of Animal Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, United States.,Division of Nutritional Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, United States
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Konrad C, Adolph D, Herbert JS, Neuhoff L, Mohr C, Jagusch-Poirier J, Seehagen S, Weigelt S, Schneider S. A New 3-Day Standardized Eyeblink Conditioning Protocol to Assess Extinction Learning From Infancy to Adulthood. Front Behav Neurosci 2020; 14:135. [PMID: 32922270 PMCID: PMC7457038 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2020.00135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2020] [Accepted: 07/13/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Associative learning can be observed from the neonatal period onward, providing opportunities to examine changes in basic learning and memory abilities. One method that is suitable to study associative learning is classical eyeblink conditioning (EBC) which is dependent on the cerebellum. Extinction learning can be systematically investigated in this paradigm by varying the context during learning and extinction. Because of methodological difficulties and ethical challenges, no studies have compared extinction learning using EBC across human development. Our goal was to test feasibility of a 3-day delay EBC paradigm that can be used from infancy to adulthood. Acceptance/safety was tested especially for infancy by investigating attrition rates and parental report on infant wellbeing. On a paradigm side, we tested if the paradigm leads to successful acquisition and extinction. An air puff served as unconditional stimulus (US) and a tone as conditional stimulus (CS). On day 1 during acquisition, participants received 36 US–CS pairings in context A. On day 2, participants received 12 acquisition trials in context A to consolidate association learning, followed by 48 extinction trials (tone alone presentations) in context B. Renewal was assessed on day 3 and incorporated 12 CS alone trials presented in both the acquisition context and the extinction context. Eyeblink responses were videotaped and coded offline. The protocol was tested with 12–36-months-old infants (N = 72), adolescents (N = 8), and adults (N = 8). Concerning the acceptance/safety side, attrition ranged from 21 to 58% in infant samples due to the complex preparation of the children for the paradigm. However, attrition is equal to or lower than other infant learning paradigms. Parents of infant samples were very interested in the paradigm and reported low levels of infant stress, exhaustion, and negative feelings during the sessions. Data quality was very high, and no participant had to be excluded because of insufficient data. Concerning the paradigm side, participants showed successful acquisition and extinction as a group. The procedure is ethically sound, feasible, tolerated by many infants, and acceptable among parents. The data show successful acquisition and extinction rates, making the paradigm a valuable tool for investigating developmental changes in extinction learning over the lifespan.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carolin Konrad
- Faculty of Psychology, Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, Mental Health Research and Treatment Center, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Dirk Adolph
- Faculty of Psychology, Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, Mental Health Research and Treatment Center, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Jane S Herbert
- Wollongong Infant Learning Lab, School of Psychology and Early Start, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, Australia
| | - Lina Neuhoff
- Faculty of Psychology, Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, Mental Health Research and Treatment Center, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Cornelia Mohr
- Abteilung für Kinderschutz, Vestische Kinder- und Jugendklinik Datteln, Universität Witten/Herdecke, Datteln, Germany
| | - Julie Jagusch-Poirier
- Vision, Visual Impairments & Blindness, Faculty of Rehabilitation Sciences, Technical University, Dortmund University, Dortmund, Germany
| | - Sabine Seehagen
- Developmental Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Sarah Weigelt
- Vision, Visual Impairments & Blindness, Faculty of Rehabilitation Sciences, Technical University, Dortmund University, Dortmund, Germany
| | - Silvia Schneider
- Faculty of Psychology, Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, Mental Health Research and Treatment Center, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
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