A system for automated behavioral phenotyping of mice

描述(申请人提供)：小鼠被广泛用于遗传和医学研究。因为基因改变和接触药物会导致微妙的行为变化，所以有必要自动识别和量化各种小鼠的行为。我们提出了一个自动的小鼠行为表型系统。该系统将采集一只或多只老鼠在典型床铺材料上，在昼夜光照条件下的数字视频数据。该系统将找到鼠标轮廓、其头部的位置和方向以及尾部位置。有了这些信息，我们可以对各种动作进行分类，包括运动、冻结、梳理、养育、癫痫发作、刻板印象，以及各种社会行为，包括鼻子、外阴嗅、攻击和交配行为。麦克风将用于记录发声，扬声器将用于惊吓测试。 目前，公司使用非自动化设备对数千只突变小鼠进行筛查。因此，表型分析既耗时又费力，而且仅限于易于测量的物理量和常见行为。我们的系统将成为一种商业上可行的工具，对制药公司和科学家有用，将有助于发现老鼠的社会行为，并将帮助研究人员了解遗传或药物操纵如何导致行为变化。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Mice are widely used in genetic and medical research. Because genetic alterations and exposure to drugs can induce subtle behavioral changes, there is a need to automatically recognize and quantify a variety of murine behaviors. We propose a system for automated behavioral phenotyping of mice. The system will acquire digital video data of single or multiple mice on typical bedding material, under day and night lighting conditions. The system will find the mouse contour, the location and orientation of its head, and the tail position. With this information, we can categorize a variety of motions, including locomotion, freezing, grooming, rearing, seizures, stereotypies, and a variety of social behaviors including nosing, ano-genital sniffing, aggression, and mating behaviors. A microphone will be used for recording vocalizations and a speaker will be used for startle tests. Currently, companies screen thousands of mutant mice using devices that are not automated. Thus phenotyping is time consuming, labor intensive, and limited to easily measured physical quantities and common behaviors. Our system will be a commercially viable tool useful to drug companies and scientists, will aid discovery in mouse social behavior, and will help researchers understand how genetic or pharmacological manipulations cause changes in behavior.