Multifunction High Throughput System for Neurophysiology of Behavior

描述（由申请人提供）：本项目的目标是创建一个系统，以执行“行为神经生理学的高吞吐量多功能系统”，以响应PA-08-001。先进的系统将为NIMH，NINDS，NIDA，NIAAA和NIA的许多其他行为神经生理学研究应用提供能力。将集成多种新技术以实现高性能高通量系统。一组合作者将为精神分裂症、大脑老化、睡眠和大脑状态、疼痛调制、癫痫发作预测和酒精滥用的研究应用提供关键的测试和评估。 第一个目标是设计和组装一个数据采集和控制模块，用于生活在实验室中的动物的连续长时间研究。计划中的安排还将允许在治疗药物的长期研究中进行多种药物输注。一个新的紧凑型低成本多通道记录/刺激和尖峰分选电子模块的版本将设计基于先进的现场可编程门阵列。紧凑型装置将安装在实验室上方的一个装置上，该装置将通过啮齿动物运动触发的电机系统旋转。来自旋转单元的高速无线、光学或数字通信将允许数据和控制信号从每个实验室传递到主计算机数据采集服务。多通道电、光刺激和电化学传感将以有效的方式集成。来自数据采集系统的系留电缆将通过大直径孔插入小鼠或大鼠。拴系的仪器将与动物一起旋转，从而允许长时间的研究，这在啮齿动物的睡眠研究中是常规的。将注射器输注泵安装在与动物一起旋转的单元上是一种新颖的设计，允许在不使用流体或光学旋转件的情况下向动物和从动物进行多个流体连接。这种设计消除了具有许多昂贵滑环的传统换向器系统，并且允许在长时间内与移动的动物进行大量的有线、半无线、流体和光学连接。 第二个目的是创建远程控制客户端软件，以控制现有的尖峰分选器软件模块和用于行为研究的实验控制的真实的时间状态机模块。这一增强功能将允许一个远程客户端与一个单一的操作员控制多个工作站。该目标的第二部分是开始使用和评估数据处理策略，该策略采用与现有高速数据库引擎并行的多个时间索引文件来包含收集的所有数据类型。输入和输出功能将与Matlab脚本和模板接口，以减少分析大量数据所需的时间。许多类型的实验控制信息，神经生理和解剖数据将组织与使用的关系数据库引擎。 第三个目的是进行与治疗相关的药物的评价研究，用于与治疗剂开发相关的行为神经生理学的多种应用。在测试反应时，将记录大鼠多个脑区的神经元群体活动，大鼠连续饲养超过30天。 引入相关增强功能的总体目标是减少所需的劳动力和仪器，以实现高效率。该系统将提供无限的可扩展性，以管理非常大的并行记录系统或多个单独的实验室。该程序将全面测试所开发的新技术的基本功能，并为行为神经生理学的广泛应用进行关键的概念验证评估。 公共卫生相关性：该项目将开发一种非常有效和具有成本效益的仪器，以控制和测试动物的各种行为，同时记录多个大脑区域的神经活动。该系统包括一些增强的电子仪器和广泛的软件，需要使高通量的研究。需要这样一个系统来确定药物的作用，这些药物可以改善精神分裂症、大脑老化、睡眠障碍、癫痫、酒精和药物滥用以及从脑损伤中恢复。该系统将有助于有效地研究药物滥用、酒精中毒以及改善精神疾病的记忆、认知和衰老大脑功能

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The goal of this project is to create a system to conduct 'High Throughput Multifunction System for Neurophysiology of Behavior', in response to PA-08-001. The advanced system will provide capabilities for many other Behavioral Neurophysiology research applications for NIMH, NINDS, NIDA, NIAAA, and NIA. Multiple new technologies will be integrated to achieve a high performance high throughput system. A group of Collaborators will provide critical test and evaluation for research applications in schizophrenia, aging brain, sleep and brain states, pain modulation, seizure prediction, and alcohol abuse. A First Aim is to design and assemble a data acquisition and control module for continuous long duration studies of animals living in an experimental chamber. The planned arrangement will also allow multiple drug infusions in long term studies of therapeutic drugs. A version of a new compact low cost multichannel recording/stimulation and spike sorting electronics module will be designed based on an advanced field programmable gate array. The compact unit will be installed above an experimental chamber on a unit that will rotate by a motor system triggered by movement of the rodent. High speed wireless, optical, or digital communication from the rotating unit will allow data and control signals to pass from each experimental chamber to a host computer data acquisition service. Multichannel electrical, optical stimulation and electrochemical sensing will be integrated in efficient manner. The tethered cabling from the data acquisition system will be inserted through a large diameter aperture to the mouse or rat. Tethered instrumentation will rotate with the animal and thus allow long duration studies, as has been routine in sleep research on rodents. Installation of syringe infusion pumps on the unit that rotates with the animal is a novel design allowing for multiple fluid connections to and from the animals without use of fluid or optical swivels. This design eliminates the traditional commutator system with many expensive slip rings, and allows greatly expanded numbers of wired, semi-wireless, fluidic, and optical connections to be made with a moving animal over long times. A Second Aim is to create remote control client software to control both an existing spike sorter software module and a real time state machine module for experimental control of behavioral studies. This enhancement will allow a remote client with a single operator to control multiple workstations. A second part of this Aim is to begin use and evaluation of a data handling strategy that employs multiple time index files in parallel with an existing high speed database engine to contain all data types collected. Input and output functions will interface with Matlab scripts and templates to reduce the time required for analysis the large volumes of data. Many types of experimental control information, neurophysiological and anatomical data will be organized with use of the relational database engine. A Third Aim is to conduct evaluation studies of drugs related to therapy for multiple applications in behavioral neurophysiology related to development of therapeutic agents. Neuron population activity will be recorded in multiple brain regions with rats housed continuously over thirty days while testing responses. The overall goal of the introduction of the interrelated enhancements is to reduce the required labor and instrumentation to achieve high efficiency. The system will provide infinite expandability to mange either very large parallel recording system or multiple individual experimental chambers. This procedure will fully test basic features of the new technology developed and conduct a key proof of concept evaluation for a wide range of application in behavioral neurophysiology. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: This project will develop an extremely efficient and cost effective instrument to control and test a wide range of behavior of animals while recording neural activity of multiple brain regions. The system includes a number of enhancements of both electronic instrumentation and the extensive software needed to enable high throughput studies. Such a system is needed to determine the actions of drugs that can cause amelioration of schizophrenia, aging brain, sleep disorder, epilepsy, alcohol and drug abuse and recovery from brain injury. The system will useful for efficient studies related to drug abuse, alcoholism, and improvement of memory, cognition in mental disease, and function in aging brain