Behavioral Studies: Enhancing Research with Advanced Testing Solutions
Behavioral studies experiments are an important part of research. Although behavioral setups are relatively simple, they are also exceedingly time-consuming to install and optimize to provide reliable and reproducible results.
Labeo Technologies provides easy-to-use solutions that save time and resources for any lab. All systems are modular and compatible with each other. You can easily couple a visual stimulation setup with brain imaging and a reward system. All our systems can be customer-specific.
You can use many tests. Here is a short list of behavioral tests from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
List of Behavioral studies Tests
- Accelerating rotarod
- Audiogenic seizure
- Balance Beam
- Elevated Plus Maze
- Fear Conditioning
- Forced Swim Test
- Grip Strength
- Inverted Screen
- Light-Dark Exploration
- Marble Burying
- Metabolic Cages
- Miss-Step Running Wheels
- Morris Water Maze
- Novel Object Recognition
- Object Placement
- Open Field Arena
- Passive Avoidance
- Pre-Pulse Inhibition
- Rotometers
- Running Wheels
- Thermal Sensitivity
- Treadscan
- Ultra-Sonic Vocalizations
- Water T Maze
- Wire Suspension
Tasks
One might want to evaluate the effect of age, disease or drug on fine motor skills. Camera-based systems can provide pertinent data, but they have limitations in the time and space domain. Also, post-processing of the data to extract the desired parameters requires time and resources.
LabeoTech has developed a system that measures the position of a lever with a resolution of 0.6°. This improves the ability to detect small movements that camera-based systems cannot see.
You can also use motor tasks as feedback for other systems. For example, you could deliver a reward when a subject accomplishes a certain task.
You can also accomplish the reach task using the lever. More details are available in the dedicated page of the lever system here. You can also implement pre-programmed tasks specific to a subject.
Stimuli
Many stimuli can be used to measure responses to the environment. Visual stimulations are one of them. From classic drifting grating and retinal mapping to complex natural images, synchronicity is key to the experiment’s success.
Microsecond and millisecond timings are important. They help ensure that system latency does not affect the measured response.
At LabeoTech, we have worked hard to ensure all our systems are in sync. This helps us achieve reliable data acquisition. A PsychoPy integration with LabeoTech’s behavioral products is available.
This system works on its own and does not need other devices for timing. You can use a feedback (lick) to reward (water) the small animal in a discriminatory task. You can also achieve binocular and monocular visual stimulation.
Video Tracking
Tracking algorithms have been popular for the last ten years. This is because of stronger computers and easier use of GPU processing.
Tracking algorithms like DeepLabCut are popular in the scientific community. However, they can be difficult for non-programmers to use.
Most of the time, simpler tracking solutions meet researchers’ needs. They provide reliable results with fewer resources and easier setup. Labeo Technologies offers a wide variety of customer-specific solutions for personalized algorithms or custom hardware to perform video tracking.
Here is an example of a 900 Hz video. Researchers took it using the optogenetic and behavioral add-ons on our OiS200 imaging device. Researchers stimulated different regions of the brain using a laser.
A custom algorithm acquired and processed paw movement. Researchers created a map using the movement amplitude at a fixed laser power. In this example, Labeo Technologies provided the hardware, acquisition software, and post-processing algorithm.
Home Cage Monitoring
Monitoring animals in their own environment eliminates stress and allows for longer testing periods. The process introduces no handling bias. You can collect “extensive data sets” easily with the home cage monitoring product. It requires little effort and simple setup.
Over the years, researchers have created many types of cage enrichment. These can track small animal behavior, breathing rate, heart rate, sleep cycle, weight, and activity. These metrics are direct indicators of depression, anxiety, drug side-effects and animal well-being in general.
We designed a tunnel that measures weight and activity, a lick counter and a water dispenser. These devices were customer-inspired and are in use in many laboratories across the world. We also offer a voluntary head-fix system that produces hundreds of hours of brain imaging data per month. Figures below display mouse circadian cycle and weight measured automatically with no user interaction.
Innovative Behavioral Research
Explore the forefront of behavioral science with our cutting-edge tools designed for behavioral experiments and behavioral analysis. Delve into the intricacies of behavior and social psychology to uncover the factors influencing our decisions. Our innovative solutions support a wide range of experimental procedures, allowing researchers to study complex behaviours in mouse models. Our advanced systems facilitate the testing of behavioral interventions, providing insights into long-term effects and loss aversion. Our products ensure precise and reliable data collection when working with mice or engaging in applied behaviour studies.
Choose our state-of-the-art equipment for comprehensive behavioral experiments and enhance your research with proven behavioral science methodologies. Understand the factors influencing behavior with unparalleled accuracy, paving the way for groundbreaking discoveries in behavioral science. We provide the tools you need to unlock the mysteries of social psychology and complex behaviours in mice and other animals. Unleash the potential of your research with our solutions, designed to optimize your study of mouse models. Trust our expertise to bring you closer to understanding the nuances of behavioral science and drive your investigations into the future.