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Morrone CD, Tsang AA, Giorshev SM, Craig EE, Yu WH. Concurrent behavioral and electrophysiological longitudinal recordings for in vivo assessment of aging. Front Aging Neurosci 2023; 14:952101. [PMID: 36742209 PMCID: PMC9891465 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2022.952101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2022] [Accepted: 12/12/2022] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Electrophysiological and behavioral alterations, including sleep and cognitive impairments, are critical components of age-related decline and neurodegenerative diseases. In preclinical investigation, many refined techniques are employed to probe these phenotypes, but they are often conducted separately. Herein, we provide a protocol for one-time surgical implantation of EMG wires in the nuchal muscle and a skull-surface EEG headcap in mice, capable of 9-to-12-month recording longevity. All data acquisitions are wireless, making them compatible with simultaneous EEG recording coupled to multiple behavioral tasks, as we demonstrate with locomotion/sleep staging during home-cage video assessments, cognitive testing in the Barnes maze, and sleep disruption. Time-course EEG and EMG data can be accurately mapped to the behavioral phenotype and synchronized with neuronal frequencies for movement and the location to target in the Barnes maze. We discuss critical steps for optimizing headcap surgery and alternative approaches, including increasing the number of EEG channels or utilizing depth electrodes with the system. Combining electrophysiological and behavioral measurements in preclinical models of aging and neurodegeneration has great potential for improving mechanistic and therapeutic assessments and determining early markers of brain disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher Daniel Morrone
- Brain Health Imaging Centre, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada,*Correspondence: Christopher Daniel Morrone,
| | - Arielle A. Tsang
- Brain Health Imaging Centre, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada,Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Sarah M. Giorshev
- Brain Health Imaging Centre, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada,Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Emily E. Craig
- Brain Health Imaging Centre, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Wai Haung Yu
- Brain Health Imaging Centre, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada,Geriatric Mental Health Research Services, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada,Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada,Wai Haung Yu,
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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: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [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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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] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [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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Abstract
This chapter describes a use case for the genetic dissection and automated analysis of complex behavioral traits using the genetically diverse panel of BXD mouse recombinant inbred strains. Strains of the BXD resource differ widely in terms of gene and protein expression in the brain, as well as in their behavioral repertoire. A large mouse resource opens the possibility for gene finding studies underlying distinct behavioral phenotypes, however, such a resource poses a challenge in behavioral phenotyping. To address the specifics of large-scale screening we describe how to investigate: (1) how to assess mouse behavior systematically in addressing a large genetic cohort, (2) how to dissect automation-derived longitudinal mouse behavior into quantitative parameters, and (3) how to map these quantitative traits to the genome, deriving loci underlying aspects of behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maarten Loos
- Sylics (Synaptologics BV), 71033, 1008 BA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. .,Department of Molecular and Cellular Neurobiology, Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research (CNCR), Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. .,NeuroBsik Mouse Phenomics Consortium:, A list of additional members of the Neuro-BSIK Mouse Phenomics Consortium is provided in the Acknowledgments., Wageningen, Netherlands.
| | - Matthijs Verhage
- Department of Functional Genomics, Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research (CNCR), Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.,Department of Clinical Genetics, VU Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.,NeuroBsik Mouse Phenomics Consortium:, A list of additional members of the Neuro-BSIK Mouse Phenomics Consortium is provided in the Acknowledgments., Wageningen, Netherlands
| | - Sabine Spijker
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Neurobiology, Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research (CNCR), Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.,NeuroBsik Mouse Phenomics Consortium:, A list of additional members of the Neuro-BSIK Mouse Phenomics Consortium is provided in the Acknowledgments., Wageningen, Netherlands
| | - August B Smit
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Neurobiology, Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research (CNCR), Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.,NeuroBsik Mouse Phenomics Consortium:, A list of additional members of the Neuro-BSIK Mouse Phenomics Consortium is provided in the Acknowledgments., Wageningen, Netherlands
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Remmelink E, Loos M, Koopmans B, Aarts E, van der Sluis S, Smit AB, Verhage M. A 1-night operant learning task without food-restriction differentiates among mouse strains in an automated home-cage environment. Behav Brain Res 2015; 283:53-60. [PMID: 25601577 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2015.01.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2014] [Revised: 01/08/2015] [Accepted: 01/10/2015] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Individuals are able to change their behavior based on its consequences, a process involving instrumental learning. Studying instrumental learning in mice can provide new insights in this elementary aspect of cognition. Conventional appetitive operant learning tasks that facilitate the study of this form of learning in mice, as well as more complex operant paradigms, require labor-intensive handling and food deprivation to motivate the animals. Here, we describe a 1-night operant learning protocol that exploits the advantages of automated home-cage testing and circumvents the interfering effects of food restriction. The task builds on behavior that is part of the spontaneous exploratory repertoire during the days before the task. We compared the behavior of C57BL/6J, BALB/cJ and DBA/2J mice and found various differences in behavior during this task, but no differences in learning curves. BALB/cJ mice showed the largest instrumental learning response, providing a superior dynamic range and statistical power to study instrumental learning by using this protocol. Insights gained with this home-cage-based learning protocol without food restriction will be valuable for the development of other, more complex, cognitive tasks in automated home-cages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Esther Remmelink
- Sylics (Synaptologics B.V.), Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Molecular and Cellular Neurobiology, Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam, VU University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Functional Genomics, Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam, VU University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Maarten Loos
- Sylics (Synaptologics B.V.), Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
| | | | - Emmeke Aarts
- Department of Functional Genomics, Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam, VU University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Sophie van der Sluis
- Section Complex Trait Genetics, Department of Clinical Genetics, VU Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | | | - Matthijs Verhage
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Neurobiology, Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam, VU University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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