Cross-site Reproducibility of Social Deficits in Group-housed BTBR Mice Using Automated Longitudinal Behavioural Monitoring. (1st October 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Peleh, Tatiana; Ike, Kevin G.O.; Frentz, Ingeborg; Buwalda, Bauke; de Boer, Sietse F.; Hengerer, Bastian; Kas, Martien J.H.
• Is Part Of: Neuroscience. Volume 445(2020)
• Page Start: 95
• Page End: 108
• Publication Date: 2020-10-01
• Subjects: ASD autism spectrum disorders -- DS detector settings -- RDoC Research Domain Criteria -- RFID Radio-frequency identification -- VBS Visible Burrow System; automated tracking -- ethology -- long-term monitoring -- translational neuroscience -- social behaviour -- circadian; Neurochemistry -- Periodicals; Neurophysiology -- Periodicals; Neurology -- Periodicals; Neurochimie -- Périodiques; Neurophysiologie -- Périodiques; Neurochemistry; Neurophysiology; Electronic journals; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 612.8
• DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2020.04.045
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0306-4522

Abstract

Highlights: A novel tool detects robust social deviations in BTBR mice, across laboratories. BTBR mice, in semi-natural housing, show social deficits relative to C57BL6/J mice. Automated analysis of social behaviours correlates with manual scoring. Abstract: Social withdrawal is associated with a variety of neuropsychiatric disorders, including neurodevelopmental disorders. Rodent studies provide the opportunity to study neurobiological mechanisms underlying social withdrawal, however, homologous paradigms to increase translatability of social behaviour between human and animal observation are needed. Standard behavioural rodent assays have limited ethological validity in terms of number of interaction partners, type of behaviour, duration of observation and environmental conditions. In addition, reproducibility of behavioural findings in rodents is further limited by manual and subjective behavioural scoring. Using a newly developed automated tracking tool for longitudinal monitoring of freely moving mice, we assessed social behaviours (approach, sniff, follow and leave) over seven consecutive days in colonies of BTBR and of C57BL/6J mice in two independent laboratories. Results from both laboratories confirmed previous findings of reduced social interaction in BTBR mice revealing a high level of reproducibility for this mouse phenotype using longitudinal colony assessments. In addition, we showed that detector settings contribute to laboratory specific findings as part of the behavioural data analysis procedure. Our cross-site study demonstrates reproducibility and robustness of reduced social interaction in BTBR mice using automated analysis in an ethologically relevant context.