A Novel Microcontroller-Based System for the Wheel-Running Activity in Mice
A Novel Microcontroller-Based System for the Wheel-Running Activity in Mice
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DOI：
10.1523/eneuro.0260-21.2021
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发表时间：
2021-11-01
期刊：
影响因子：
3.4
通讯作者：
Aizawa, Hidenori
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Zhu, Meina;Kasaragod, Deepa Kamath;Aizawa, Hidenori
自愿跑轮活动是一种评估啮齿动物昼夜节律和运动动机的方法。这些行为的缺陷与睡眠和精神疾病的病理生理学有关。动物设施中有限的空间可能会妨碍对饲养笼外的转轮活动进行长期监测。为了解决这个问题，我们提供了一个独立的解决方案来监控老鼠在笼子里的轮子活动。该系统，名为车轮运行活动采集（WRAQ）系统，是基于由锂聚合物电池驱动的微控制器。使用WRAQ，我们可以记录至少30 d的车轮运行活动和照明数据。将WRAQ应用于内毒素血症小鼠模型，稳健地检测到改变的轮跑活动及其恢复。随着无线数据传输能力的扩展，该系统还允许对昼夜节律时间（CT）进行在线监测和报告。我们使用了这个扩展的WRAQ系统的车轮运行活动的在线监测，并观察到一个显着的转变，在昼夜节律的活跃期后，时间的化学发生激活视交叉上核（SCN）-脑室旁区（SPZ）。总之，这些研究结果表明，WRAQ系统是一种新颖的和具有成本效益的解决方案，用于分析小鼠的轮跑活动。
Voluntary wheel-running activity is a way to assess rodents' circadian rhythm and motivation for exercise. Deficits in these behaviors are implicated in the pathophysiology of sleep and psychiatric disorders. Limited space in animal facilities can hamper long-term monitoring of running wheel activity outside of the home cage. To address this issue, we provide a stand-alone solution to monitor the wheel-running activity of mice in their home cage. This system, named the wheel-running activity acquisition (WRAQ) system, is based on a micro-controller driven by a lithium polymer battery. With the WRAQ, we can record the wheel-running activity and illumination data for at least 30 d. Applying the WRAQ to an endotoxemia mouse model robustly detected the altered wheel-running activity and its recovery. With wireless data transfer capability extension, the system also allows for online monitoring and reporting of the circadian time (CT). We used the online monitoring of wheel-running activity with this extended WRAQ system and observed a significant shift of the active period in the circadian rhythm following a temporal chemogenetic activation of the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)-sub-paraventricular zone (SPZ). Together, these findings indicate that the WRAQ system is a novel and cost-effective solution for the analysis of wheel-running activity in mice.