Using wireless recording technologies to investigate cortical coherence in a mouse model of dementia

许多神经科学家测量动物（如老鼠）大脑中的电信号，以了解大脑如何存储和处理信息。这通常是在老鼠有意识的时候进行的，它们正在探索一个测试不同类型记忆的迷宫。我们也可以在老鼠身上使用这项技术，这些老鼠已经被改变了基因，产生了一些疾病的症状，比如阿尔茨海默氏症，来检查大脑在这些情况下是如何失灵的。直到最近，科学家们能够做到这一点的唯一方法是在动物探索迷宫时，在动物的头上绑上一束电线。这个过程不可避免地会给动物带来一定程度的压力和不适，并限制其自由活动的能力。在这个项目中，我们的目标是将与使用无线录音系统（称为“TaiNi”系统）相关的技能和知识从开发商之一（礼来公司）转移到埃克塞特大学的学术团队。对神经科学家来说，TaiNi系统代表了无线记录技术的一个重大变化，因为它足够轻，可以很容易地由鼠标携带，但又足够强大，可以一次将复杂的神经信号传输到附近的接收器，最长可达72小时。这些技术进步意味着神经科学家将能够远程监测老鼠大脑中的电活动，而不需要在动物的头上绑上电线，从而大大减少了与这些类型的实验相关的压力和不适；因此，这项技术代表了这类实验的重大福利改进。我们将使用TaiNi系统来检查大脑两个区域之间的交流，这两个区域被认为对记忆和识别熟悉环境的能力很重要。这种类型的记忆在阿尔茨海默病患者中严重受损，导致患者即使在熟悉的地方也会迷失方向。因此，我们还将在阿尔茨海默病小鼠模型中检查这些大脑区域之间的通信。这些实验将有两个广泛的目标：首先，从这些研究中收集的数据将有助于解释痴呆症早期破坏性症状背后的大脑机制；其次，这些研究将提供一个“原理证明”，即无线记录技术可以成功地应用于小鼠。如果这些目标取得成功，我们将能够为痴呆症如何影响大脑的科学和临床痴呆症社区提供重要信息。此外，我们将能够为其他希望在研究中使用taii无线录音系统的科学家提供指导。

Many neuroscientists measure electrical signals in the brains of animals, such mice, in order to understand how the brain stores and processes information. This is often done whilst the mouse is conscious and exploring a maze which test different types of memory. We can also use this technology in mice which have been genetically altered to produce some of the symptoms of diseases such as Alzheimer's, to examine how the brain malfunctions in these conditions. Until recently the only way scientists have been able to do this is to attach a bundle of wires to the animals head whilst the animal is exploring the maze. This process inevitably produces a level of stress and discomfort to the animal and restricts its ability to move freely.In this project, we aim to transfer the skills and knowledge associated with using a wireless recording system (called the 'TaiNi' system), from one of the developers (Eli Lilly) to academic groups based at the University of Exeter. The TaiNi system represents a step change in wireless recording technology for neuroscientists, since it is light enough to be easily carried by a mouse and yet powerful enough to transmit the complex neural signals to a nearby receiver for up to 72 hours at a time. These technological advancements mean that neuroscientists will be able to remotely monitor the electrical activity in a mouse brain, without the need to attach wires to the animal's head, substantially reducing the stress and discomfort associated with these types of experiment; therefore, this technology represents a significant welfare refinement for this type of experiment. We will use the TaiNi system to examine communication between two brain regions that are thought to be important in the ability to remember and recognise familiar environments. This type of memory is severely impaired in people suffering from Alzheimer's disease, resulting in patients becoming lost and disorientated even in familiar places. Therefore, we will also examine communication between these brain regions in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease. These experiments will have two broad aims: firstly, the data gleaned from these studies will help explain the brain mechanisms underlying a devastating early symptom of dementia; and secondly, these studies will provide a 'proof of principal' that wireless recording technologies can be successfully deployed in mice. If successful in these aims, we will be in a position to contribute important information about how dementia affects the brain to the scientific and clinical dementia community. Furthermore, we will be able to provide guidance to other scientists wishing to use the TaiNi wireless recording system in their research.