Multifunction High Throughput System for Neurophysiology of Behavior

描述(申请人提供)：本项目的目标是建立一个系统，以进行‘高通量多功能系统的行为神经生理学’，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、高吞吐量的系统。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、癫痫预测和酗酒等研究应用提供关键测试和评估。第一个目标是设计和组装一个数据采集和控制模块，用于对生活在实验舱中的动物进行连续长时间的研究。计划中的安排还将允许在治疗药物的长期研究中进行多次药物输注。基于先进的现场可编程门阵列，将设计一种新的紧凑型、低成本的多通道记录/刺激和尖峰分类电子模块。紧凑型装置将安装在实验室的上方，装置由啮齿动物移动触发的马达系统旋转。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机数据采集服务。多通道电、光刺激和电化学传感将以高效的方式集成在一起。来自数据采集系统的系绳电缆将通过大直径的孔插入到老鼠或大鼠身上。拴系的仪器将与动物一起旋转，从而允许进行长时间的研究，这是啮齿动物睡眠研究中的常规做法。在与动物一起旋转的装置上安装注射器输液泵是一种新颖的设计，允许在不使用液体或光学旋转器的情况下将多个液体连接到动物和从动物出来。这种设计消除了传统的带有许多昂贵滑环的换向器系统，并允许大量的有线、半无线、流体和光学连接与移动的动物长时间进行连接。第二个目标是创建远程控制客户端软件，以控制现有的脉冲分类器软件模块和实时状态机模块，用于行为研究的实验控制。这一增强功能将允许具有单个操作员的远程客户端控制多个工作站。这一目标的第二部分是开始使用和评估数据处理策略，该策略使用多个时间索引文件与现有的高速数据库引擎并行，以包含所收集的所有数据类型。输入和输出功能将与Matlab脚本和模板对接，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、神经生理学和解剖学数据将使用关系数据库引擎来组织。第三个目标是对与治疗相关的药物进行评估研究，以在行为神经生理学中与治疗剂的开发相关的多种应用。在测试反应的同时，连续饲养30天以上的大鼠将在多个大脑区域记录神经元群体活动。引入相互关联的改进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。这一程序将全面测试开发的新技术的基本特征，并为在行为神经生理学中的广泛应用进行关键的概念评估。 与公共健康相关：该项目将开发一种极其高效和成本效益高的工具来控制和测试动物的广泛行为，同时记录多个大脑区域的神经活动。该系统包括对电子仪器和实现高吞吐量研究所需的广泛软件的若干改进。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与药物滥用、酒精中毒以及改善记忆、精神病认知和老化大脑功能有关的问题。

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