Technological and Physical Enhancements for Primate Behavioral Testing Suites

灵长类动物行为测试套件的技术和物理增强

• 批准号: 8902409
• 负责人: Nancy L Haigwood
• 金额: $ 49.78万
• 依托单位: OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2015-08-21 至 2017-08-20
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/8902409
• 关键词: Animal Disease Models; Animal Model; Animals; Behavior; Behavior assessment; Behavioral; Computer software; Computers; Data; Development; Devices; Diabetes Mellitus; Equipment; Faculty; Funding; Goals; Grant; Health; Housing; Human; Immunology; Individual; Interruption; Lighting; Metabolism; Modeling; Monitor; Monkeys; Needs Assessment; Neurosciences; Obesity; Oregon; Output; Primates; Principal Investigator; Procedures; Research; Research Personnel; Safety; Science; Services; Signal Transduction; Surface; System; Telemetry; Testing; Travel; awake; base; behavior observation; behavior test; building materials; cognitive task; cognitive testing; data acquisition; design; human disease; improved; new technology; nonhuman primate; reproductive; response; sound; success; touchscreen; vocalization

 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The Oregon National Primate Research Center (ONPRC) is one of eight National Primate Research Centers whose focus is to develop and to provide models for human disease for investigators who are exploring ways to improve human health. The ONPRC has over 40 faculty principal investigators who are involved in research using nonhuman primate (NHP) models in four scientific divisions: 1) Neuroscience; 2) Reproductive & Developmental Sciences; 3) Pathobiology & Immunology; and 4) Diabetes, Obesity & Metabolism. An increasing number of these studies involve the assessment of behaviors, and for this reason the Center constructed a cluster of eight behavioral testing suites intended for shared use and located within the Animal Services Building-3. These suites provide individual enclosed spaces as operant chambers for NHP behavioral observations and anterooms for observers/computers to record responses to testing. NHPs are not housed in these rooms and there is no permanent equipment in the spaces. The number of studies that include assessment of various aspects of primate behaviors relevant to our animal models of disease has increased significantly since the current behavioral testing suites were constructed. In addition to adding new technologies for assessing behavior, we have also expanded the number of animal models under study, driven in part by our success in funding this type of research. However, as more projects are funded, both technological and physical enhancements are needed to enhance the research and improve NHP well being. In this application, we are proposing to upgrade facilities that were designed and built a decade ago for this purpose, but that were built according to a different set of standards because much or all of the experimental data were acquired using anesthetized monkeys. Presently, sound travels readily between rooms, and vocalization of primates that are awake in one room disrupts the focus of the test subjects in all other rooms. Our goal is to better accommodate non-anesthetized (awake) animals in cognitive testing, which is the type of assessment needed for our currently funded grants. We propose to modernize the procedures that use computer-based data acquisition systems by providing touch screens for chambers in every room, and through the addition of a computer server with software for data acquisition, data output, and initial analyses of the various cognitive tasks. We also plan to install a monitor in the external hallway at the suite entrance for the capture of all suite activities into a single split screen, to both enhance safety and limit interruptions. Our specific aims are to: (1) Add sound-dampening building materials to walls and insulation to ceilings in individual testing rooms; (2) Enhance ambiance by removing reflective surfaces and changing lighting to variable, non- fluorescent lights that include dimming devices; (3) Provide electrical signal disruption between observation rooms to assist in telemetry; and (4) Enhance the ability to perform and monitor remote data acquisition in the behavioral suites.

 描述（由申请人提供）：俄勒冈国家灵长类动物研究中心 (ONPRC) 是八个国家灵长类动物研究中心之一，其重点是为正在探索改善人类健康方法的研究人员开发和提供人类疾病模型。 ONPRC 拥有 40 多名主要研究人员，他们在四个科学部门使用非人类灵长类动物 (NHP) 模型进行研究：1) 神经科学； 2）生殖与发育科学； 3）病理学与免疫学； 4) 糖尿病、肥胖和新陈代谢。越来越多的此类研究涉及行为评估，因此该中心在动物服务 3 号楼内建造了一组由八个行为测试套件组成的集群，供共享使用。这些套房提供独立的封闭空间，作为 NHP 行为观察的操作室，以及观察者/计算机记录测试反应的接待室。 NHP 不安置在这些房间内，并且空间内没有永久性设备。自从构建当前的行为测试套件以来，包括对与我们的疾病动物模型相关的灵长类动物行为的各个方面进行评估的研究数量显着增加。除了添加用于评估行为的新技术外，我们还扩大了正在研究的动物模型的数量，部分原因是我们成功资助了此类研究。然而，随着越来越多的项目获得资助，技术和物理方面的改进都需要加强，以加强研究并改善 NHP 的福祉。在此申请中，我们建议升级十年前为此目的设计和建造的设施，但这些设施是根据不同的标准建造的，因为大部分或全部实验数据是使用麻醉猴子获得的。目前，声音在房间之间很容易传播，并且在一个房间中清醒的灵长类动物的发声会扰乱所有其他房间中的测试对象的注意力。我们的目标是更好地适应非麻醉（清醒）动物的认知测试，这是我们目前资助的拨款所需的评估类型。我们建议通过为每个房间的房间提供触摸屏，并添加带有数据采集、数据输出和各种认知任务的初始分析软件的计算机服务器，对使用基于计算机的数据采集系统的程序进行现代化改造。我们还计划在套房入口处的外部走廊安装监视器，将所有套房活动捕获到单个分屏中，以增强安全性并减少干扰。我们的具体目标是：（1）在各个测试室的墙壁上添加隔音建筑材料，在天花板上添加隔热材料； (2) 通过去除反光表面并将照明改为可变的非荧光灯（包括调光装置）来增强氛围； (3) 提供观测室之间的电信号中断，以协助遥测； (4) 增强行为套件中执行和监控远程数据采集的能力。