Abstract
Extensive behavioral testing of mice including common laboratory strains and genetically modified lines has revealed that many measures of hippocampus-dependent memory and learning are confounded by reactions of mice towards handling and test conditions. Moreover, very little is known about cognitive activity of mice in their natural environment. Therefore, we have developed transponder-based techniques permitting to assess learning and cognition in social settings, first in outdoor pens and later in large cage units called "Intellicage". Data presented will show how hippocampal malfunction is manifested in the water maze, under outdoor conditions and in Intellicages, and how transponder-based technology can be used for fully automated assessment of memory and learning in large number of mice.The main conclusions for high-throughput phenotyping are:- Mutation, strain and hippocampal lesion effects can easily be discovered within a social group–testing single mice in isolation is methodologically not necessary.- Automated testing is 10 to 40 times more economic than manual testing.- Comparability across labs is improved and standardization is much facilitated.- Transponder-based automated systems can be used for both, screening by laypersons and sophisticated analysis by behavioral experts.Since all testing is done without human interference by computers, different groups can easily share data over the web. This will enable researchers to perform comparative analysis of animals having undergone identical test protocols in different locations. Supported by Swiss National Science Foundation and NCCR "Neural Plasticity and Repair". [J Physiol Sci. 2006;56 Suppl:S52]
