BEHAVIORAL TESTING FACILITY (BTF)

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This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. The main goal of the Behavioral Testing Facility (BTF) is to cover a need associated with the development processes of several groups at the Universidad Central del Caribe (UCC). The Behavioral Testing Facility is of fundamental importance for a variety of ongoing and new projects at the UCC. Our projection is to serve as a reference facility, making available the study of animal behavior to laboratories in Puerto Rico as well as the continental US. All services offered by the BTF directly use the equipment located in the physical facility and also use other routes of data acquisition such as remote acquisition by means of wireless equipment. Last year we carried out the facility's marketing of the Puerto Rican scientific community with the purpose of recruiting new users. We are continually promoting and increasing collaborations among UCC-investigators and between UCC-laboratories and other academic institutions in Puerto Rico. These approaches were and have been very successful, as demonstrated by the enrollment of new users, three of them from the UCC and two from the external scientific community. The facility has been improved by including the non-invasive evaluation of vital parameters (Heart-Rate, Blood Oxygen Saturation, Respiratory-Rate, etc.) in mice and rats. The evaluation performed previous to the behavioral testing represented a strong and promising enhancement during behavioral analysis. In the near future, we will dedicate our efforts to restore the acquisition of data across Internet2. This objective will be implemented in collaboration with Network and Information Systems Administration at the UCC.