Automated test of behavioral flexibility in mice using a behavioral sequencing task in IntelliCage
Automated test of behavioral flexibility in mice using a behavioral sequencing task in IntelliCage
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DOI：
10.1016/j.bbr.2011.02.037
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发表时间：
2011-08-01
影响因子：
2.7
通讯作者：
Kakeyama, Masaki
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Endo, Toshihiro;Maekawa, Fumihiko;Kakeyama, Masaki
长期以来，人们一直需要开发有效和标准化的行为测试方法来评估小鼠的高级脑功能。在这里，我们使用IntelliCage开发并验证了小鼠的行为灵活性测试，IntelliCage是一种全自动的小鼠行为分析系统，适用于群体饲养环境。我们首先在IntelliCage中开发了一个“行为排序任务”，使我们能够评估位置辨别和行为序列的学习能力，以获得奖励。在使用该任务的串行反转学习中，奖励和从不奖励的地方的区别空间模式被串行反转，因此，小鼠相应地被期望重新排列先前获得的行为序列。在一般情况下，测试小鼠表现出快速收购的行为测序任务和行为的灵活性，在随后的系列逆转阶段，无论是在会话内和会话间的分析。发现在三个不同的实验室中获得了基本相同的结果，这证实了本试验方案在不同品系小鼠（C57 BL/6、DBA/2和ICR）中的高稳定性。特别是，最训练有素的C578 L/6小鼠队列在长期连续逆转测试的最后阶段实现了对逆转任务的显著快速适应，这可能表明小鼠适应了“逆转规则”本身。总之，新开发的行为测试被证明是小鼠行为灵活性的有效测定，并有望用于认知缺陷小鼠模型的测试。(C)2011爱思唯尔有限公司版权所有。
There has been a long-standing need to develop efficient and standardized behavioral test methods for evaluating higher-order brain functions in mice. Here, we developed and validated a behavioral flexibility test in mice using IntelliCage, a fully automated behavioral analysis system for mice in a group-housed environment. We first developed a "behavioral sequencing task" in the IntelliCage that enables us to assess the learning ability of place discrimination and behavioral sequence for reward acquisition. In the serial reversal learning using the task, the discriminated spatial patterns of the rewarded and never-rewarded places were serially reversed, and thus, mice were accordingly expected to realign the previously acquired behavioral sequence. In general, the tested mice showed rapid acquisition of the behavioral sequencing task and behavioral flexibility in the subsequent serial reversal stages both in intra- and inter-session analyses. It was found that essentially the same results were obtained among three different laboratories, which confirm the high stability of the present test protocol in different strains of mice (C57BL/6, DBA/2, and ICR). In particular, the most trained cohort of C578L/6 mice achieved a markedly rapid adaptation to the reversal task in the final phase of the long-term serial reversal test, which possibly indicated that the mice adapted to the "reversal rule" itself. In conclusion, the newly developed behavioral test was shown to be a valid assay of behavioral flexibility in mice, and is expected to be utilized in tests of mouse models of cognitive deficits. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.