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Phenotyping in Mice Using Continuous Home Cage Monitoring and Ultrasonic Vocalization Recordings

Over the last century, the study of mouse behavior has uncovered insights into brain molecular mechanisms while revealing potential causes of many neurological disorders. To this end, researchers have widely exploited the use of mutant strains, including those generated in mutagenesis screens and those produced ...

Forward Genetics Identifies A Novel Sleep Mutant With Sleep State Inertia And REM Sleep Deficits

Switches between global sleep and wakefulness states are believed to be dictated by top-down influences arising from subcortical nuclei. Using forward genetics and in vivo electrophysiology, we identified a recessive mouse mutant line characterized by a substantially reduced propensity to transition between wake and sleep states with an ...

The Effects Of Microchipping C57bl/6n Mice On Standard Phenotyping Tests

The C57BL/6N inbred lines of mice are widely used in genetic research. They are particularly favoured in large scale studies such as the International Mouse Phenotyping Consortium (IMPC), where C57BL/6N mice are genetically altered to generate a collection of null alleles (currently more than 8500 null alleles have been generated). In this project, mice carrying null alleles are ...

Temporal Dissociation Of Phencyclidine: Induced Locomotor And Social Alterations In Rats Using An Automated Homecage Monitoring System – Implications For The 3Rs And Preclinical Drug Discovery

Rodent behavioural assays are widely used to delineate the mechanisms of psychiatric disorders and predict the efficacy of drug candidates. Conventional behavioural paradigms are restricted to short time windows and involve transferring animals from the homecage to unfamiliar apparatus which induces stress. Additionally, factors including environmental perturbations, handling ...

Drug-Responsive Autism Phenotypes In The 16p11.2 Deletion Mouse Model: A Central Role For Gene-Environment Interactions

There are no current treatments for autism, despite its high prevalence. Deletions of chromosome 16p11.2 dramatically increase risk for autism, suggesting that mice with an equivalent genetic rearrangement may offer a valuable model for the testing of novel classes of therapeutic drug. 16p11.2 deletion (16p11.2 DEL) mice and wild-type controls were assessed using an ...

xLoss Of Frrs1l Disrupts Synaptic AMPA Receptor Function, And Results In Neurodevelopmental, Motor, Cognitive And Electrographical Abnormalities

Loss-of-function mutations in a human AMPA receptor-associated protein, ferric chelate reductase 1-like (FRRS1L), are associated with a devastating neurological condition incorporating choreoathetosis, cognitive deficits and epileptic encephalopathies. Furthermore, evidence from overexpressio ...

Studies On Long Term Behavioural Changes In Group-Housed Rat Models Of Brain And Spinal Cord Injury Using An Automated Home Cage Recording System

Neurotrauma patients face major neurological sequelae. The failure in the preclinical-to-clinical translation of candidate therapies could be due to poor evaluation of rodent behaviours after neurotrauma. A home cage automated system was used to study the long term behaviour of individual rats with traumatic brain injury (TBI), spinal cord injury ...

Regeneration Of Dopaminergic Neurons In Adult Zebrafish Depends On Immune System Activation And Differs For Distinct Populations

Adult zebrafish, in contrast to mammals, regenerate neurons in their brain, but the extent and variability of this capacity is unclear. Here we ask whether the loss of various dopaminergic neuron populations is sufficient to trigger their functional regeneration. Both sexes of zebrafish were analyzed. Genetic lineage tracing shows that specific diencephalic ...

Timing Of Host Feeding Drives Rhythms In Parasite Replication

Circadian rhythms enable organisms to synchronise the processes underpinning survival and reproduction to anticipate daily changes in the external environment. Recent work shows that daily (circadian) rhythms also enable parasites to maximise fitness in the context of ecological interactions with their hosts. Because parasite ...

Pharmacological Validation Of Individual Animal Locomotion, Temperature And Behavioural Analysis In Group-Housed Rats Using A Novel Automated Home Cage Analysis System: A Comparison With The Modified Irwin Test

The ActualHCA™ system continuously monitors the activity, temperature and behavior of group-housed rats without invasive surgery. The system was validated to detect the contrasting effects of sedative and stimulant test agents (chlorpromazine, clonidine and amphetamine), and compared with the modified Irwin test (mIT) with rectal temperature ...

Rodent Big Brother: Optimal Positioning of the Subcutaneous RFID Microchip Transponder for 24/7 Home Cage Monitoring in Rats

Rodent Big Brother was designed with the capability of monitoring ambulatory activity and subcutaneous temperature from a radiofrequency identification transponder (RFID), and behaviour from high definition videos, of individual rats when group-housed in unmodified home cage environments. The ...

Rodent Big Brother: A Comparison to the Modified Irwin Test for Assessing Drug-Induced Changes in Activity and Temperature in Rats

The modified Irwin Test (mIT)1 is a global neurobehavioural assessment recommended by ICH S7A and involves an in-depth evaluation of each animal at specific timepoints. This however only gives ‘snapshots’ of behaviours, requires disturbing the animals and is usually only carried out during the light phase. • Rodent Big Brother ...

Rodent Big Brother: Automated Video Recognition of Home Cage Behaviours in Safety Pharmacology and Toxicology Studies in Group-Housed Rats

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Assessing Mouse Behaviour Throughout The Light/Dark Cycle Using Automated In-Cage Analysis Tools

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Automated Recording Of Home Cage Activity And Temperature Of Individual Rats Housed In Social Groups: The Rodent Big Brother Project

Measuring the activity and temperature of rats is commonly required in biomedical research. Conventional approaches necessitate single housing, which affects their behavior and wellbeing. We have used a subcutaneous radiofrequency identification (RFID) transponder to measure ambulatory activity and temperature of individual rats when group-housed ...

Analysis of Individual Mouse Activity in Group Housed Animals of Different Inbred Strains Using a Novel Automated Home Cage Analysis System

Central nervous system disorders such as autism as well as the range of neurodegenerative diseases such as Huntington's disease are commonly investigated using genetically altered mouse models. The current system for characterizing these mice usually involves removing the animals from their home-cage environment and placing them into novel environments where they undergo a battery of tests ...

Tracking Of Individual Mice In A Social Setting Using Video Tracking Combined With Rfid Tags

Rodents used in laboratory research are housed in small groups in cages where they eat, sleep, drink, groom and interact socially. Procedures and behavioural tests to analyse an animal's capabilities and fitness are often laborious, slow, subjective and unnatural. Experimenter influence is a particularly difficult issue; even if the data capture itself can ...

Circadian Rhythms In Malaria Parasites?

Circadian rhythms maximise fitness by allowing organisms to an4cipate and exploit daily environmental fluctua4ons. Circadian rhythms in disease is generally an understudied area. Rhythms appear important for hosts to cope with infec4ons, e.g. there is a 4me of day effect of controlling bacterial infec4on in mice [1]. Rhythms are also important for parasite fitness e.g...

Circadian Rhythms In Malaria Parasites?

Circadian rhythms maximise fitness by allowing organisms to an4cipate and exploit daily environmental fluctua4ons. Circadian rhythms in disease is generally an understudied area. Rhythms appear important for hosts to cope with infec4ons, e.g. there is a 4me of day effect of controlling bacterial infec4on in mice [1]. Rhythms are als ...

Rodent Big Brother: Development And Validation Of A Home Cage Automated Behavioural Monitoring System For Use In Repeat-Dose Toxicity Studies In Rats

In 2011 AstraZeneca set a challenge under the NC3Rs inaugural CRACK IT scheme, calling for novel technology to record locomotor activity, behaviour and temperature of individual rats continuously for up to 30 days (ie, ‘24/30’ monitoring), noninvasively, when group-housed in standard home cages. Although methodology has been available ...