Video-based Mouse Activity Monitoring and Behavior Profiling
Behavior assessment is an integral part in drug-efficacy, animal model development, and phenotyping studies. Video-based systems have emerged as a viable solution to quantify alterations in mouse locomotion and behavior profiles. Automated video analysis carries the promise of high-throughput, long-term, and fine-grained assessment of mouse activity and behavior. The results obtained through video analysis compliment other phenotypical measures to provide researchers more insight on deviations from baseline behavior. The System for Continuous Observation of Rodents in Home-cage Environment (SCORHE) was developed to enable wide-spread access to video-acquisition and analysis technology in animal facilities. The SCORHE units were designed to have a minimal footprint and integrate with existing colony racks. SCORHE space efficiency and automated video analysis makes SCORHE suitable for large-scale, long-term use with minimal user intervention.
Dr. Holmgren’s lab in the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), Molecular Neurophysiology Section, carries out research examining the biophysics and physiological role of the sodium-potassium pump (Na+/K+-ATPase) in neurons. The pump is crucial for electrical signaling because it generates the sodium, potassium, and voltage gradients across the cell membrane that power neurons’ action potentials. Mutations in one of the pump genes, ATP1A3, cause neurological disorders that involve episodes of seizure or abnormal movements. Mice carrying disease-causing ATP1A3 mutations have similar episodes. Studying these mice could help understand how episodes are triggered and discover ways to prevent them, but a reliable way to detect and record episodes is needed. Integrating SCORHE with these experiments will supply researchers with a richer assessment of the mouse behavior, episodes, and activity.
A BESIP student working on this project should have an interest in animal-based research, image and video analysis, and biomedical instrumentation. Working closely with the interdisciplinary team, several SCORHE units will be installed in the NINDS animal facility, complete with control PC and software. Acquiring video with the SCORHE units, we will conduct experiments to identify behavioral differences in various strains of mice. The experiments may require hardware modification to the base SCORHE units, which would require the intern to work with 3D CAD for design and fabrication, or, depending on the intern’s interests, at least guide others to implement the mechanical changes. The intern will work closely with NINDS staff to leverage their expertise in identifying behaviors of interest, such as episodes of abnormal movement, in video. The team will process the video to extract relevant measures of activity and detect behavioral patterns of interest. These behaviors may not be immediately detectable with the existing base SCORHE software, in which case the intern will utilize deep learning methods to add capability to the custom software. Lastly, actual experiments for profiling mouse (e.g., with ATP1A3 mutation) behavior will be carried out with analysis and reporting of scientific results. Throughout the process, the intern will identify areas of improvement in both the SCORHE hardware and software and work towards improving the ease-of-use and reliability of the system as a whole.
Holmgren lab: Expertise in electrophysiology and in the study of the sodium-potassium pump. Ongoing research includes detailed biophysical characterization of the sodium-potassium pump, including analysis of how disease-causing mutations affect how the pump functions. Lab members contribute experience in the biophysical, neurophysiological, and medical aspects of pump function.
Pohida lab: Provides electrical, electronic, electro-optical, mechanical, computer, and software engineering expertise to NIH projects that require in-house technology development. Collaborations involve advanced signal transduction and data acquisition; real-time signal and image processing; control and monitoring systems (e.g., robotics and process automation); and rapid prototype development. Collaborations result in the design of first-of-a-kind biomedical/clinical research systems, instrumentation, and methodologies.