Instrumented swim test for quantifying motor impairment in rodents
Abstract Swim tests are highly effective for identifying vestibular deficits in rodents by offering significant vestibular motor challenges with reduced proprioceptive input, unlike rotarod and balance beam tests. Traditional swim tests rely on subjective assessments, limiting objective quantificati...
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Nature Portfolio
2024-11-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-80344-y |
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| author | Natasha C. Hughes Dale C. Roberts Basile Tarchini Kathleen E. Cullen |
| author_facet | Natasha C. Hughes Dale C. Roberts Basile Tarchini Kathleen E. Cullen |
| author_sort | Natasha C. Hughes |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Swim tests are highly effective for identifying vestibular deficits in rodents by offering significant vestibular motor challenges with reduced proprioceptive input, unlike rotarod and balance beam tests. Traditional swim tests rely on subjective assessments, limiting objective quantification and reproducibility. We present a novel instrumented swim test using a miniature motion sensor with a 3D accelerometer and 3D gyroscope affixed to the rodent’s head. This setup robustly quantifies six-dimensional motion—three translational and three rotational axes—during swimming with high temporal resolution. We demonstrate the test’s capabilities by comparing head movements of Gpr156 -/- mutant mice, which have impaired otolith organ development, to their heterozygous littermates. Our results show axis-specific differences in head movement probability distribution functions and dynamics that identify mice with the Gpr156 mutation. Axis-specific power spectrum analyses reveal selective movement alterations within distinct frequency ranges. Additionally, our spherical visualization and 3D analysis quantifies swimming performance based on head vector distance from upright. We use this analysis to generate a single classifier metric—a weighted average of an animal’s head deviation from upright during swimming. This metric effectively distinguishes animals with vestibular dysfunction from those with normal vestibular function. Overall, this instrumented swim test provides quantitative metrics for assessing performance and identifying subtle, axis- and frequency-specific deficits not captured by existing systems. This novel quantitative approach can enhance understanding of rodent sensorimotor function including enabling more selective and reproducible studies of vestibular-motor deficits. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ec5aee6eb98540c48a97d52ebfa5846f |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-11-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj-art-ec5aee6eb98540c48a97d52ebfa5846f2024-12-01T12:24:12ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222024-11-0114111410.1038/s41598-024-80344-yInstrumented swim test for quantifying motor impairment in rodentsNatasha C. Hughes0Dale C. Roberts1Basile Tarchini2Kathleen E. Cullen3Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins UniversityDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins UniversityThe Jackson LaboratoryDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins UniversityAbstract Swim tests are highly effective for identifying vestibular deficits in rodents by offering significant vestibular motor challenges with reduced proprioceptive input, unlike rotarod and balance beam tests. Traditional swim tests rely on subjective assessments, limiting objective quantification and reproducibility. We present a novel instrumented swim test using a miniature motion sensor with a 3D accelerometer and 3D gyroscope affixed to the rodent’s head. This setup robustly quantifies six-dimensional motion—three translational and three rotational axes—during swimming with high temporal resolution. We demonstrate the test’s capabilities by comparing head movements of Gpr156 -/- mutant mice, which have impaired otolith organ development, to their heterozygous littermates. Our results show axis-specific differences in head movement probability distribution functions and dynamics that identify mice with the Gpr156 mutation. Axis-specific power spectrum analyses reveal selective movement alterations within distinct frequency ranges. Additionally, our spherical visualization and 3D analysis quantifies swimming performance based on head vector distance from upright. We use this analysis to generate a single classifier metric—a weighted average of an animal’s head deviation from upright during swimming. This metric effectively distinguishes animals with vestibular dysfunction from those with normal vestibular function. Overall, this instrumented swim test provides quantitative metrics for assessing performance and identifying subtle, axis- and frequency-specific deficits not captured by existing systems. This novel quantitative approach can enhance understanding of rodent sensorimotor function including enabling more selective and reproducible studies of vestibular-motor deficits.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-80344-yPhenotypic testsBalance deficitsSwim testHead motionSensorimotor functionVestibular |
| spellingShingle | Natasha C. Hughes Dale C. Roberts Basile Tarchini Kathleen E. Cullen Instrumented swim test for quantifying motor impairment in rodents Scientific Reports Phenotypic tests Balance deficits Swim test Head motion Sensorimotor function Vestibular |
| title | Instrumented swim test for quantifying motor impairment in rodents |
| title_full | Instrumented swim test for quantifying motor impairment in rodents |
| title_fullStr | Instrumented swim test for quantifying motor impairment in rodents |
| title_full_unstemmed | Instrumented swim test for quantifying motor impairment in rodents |
| title_short | Instrumented swim test for quantifying motor impairment in rodents |
| title_sort | instrumented swim test for quantifying motor impairment in rodents |
| topic | Phenotypic tests Balance deficits Swim test Head motion Sensorimotor function Vestibular |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-80344-y |
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