title: A low-cost method for analyzing seizure-like activity and movement in Drosophila.
abstract: Video tracking systems have been used widely to analyze Drosophila melanogaster movement and detect various abnormalities in locomotive behavior. While these systems can provide a wealth of behavioral information, the cost and complexity of these systems can be prohibitive for many labs. We have developed a low-cost assay for measuring locomotive behavior and seizure movement in D. melanogaster. The system uses a web-cam to capture images that can be processed using a combination of inexpensive and free software to track the distance moved, the average velocity of movement and the duration of movement during a specified time-span. To demonstrate the utility of this system, we examined a group of D. melanogaster mutants, the Bang-sensitive (BS) paralytics, which are 3-10 times more susceptible to seizure-like activity (SLA) than wild type flies. Using this novel system, we were able to detect that the BS mutant bang senseless (bss) exhibits lower levels of exploratory locomotion in a novel environment than wild type flies. In addition, the system was used to identify that the drug metformin, which is commonly used to treat type II diabetes, reduces the intensity of SLA in the BS mutants.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Franciscan University of Steubenville.
authors.forename: Bryan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Stone
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Franciscan University of Steubenville.
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Burke
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Franciscan University of Steubenville.
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pathakamuri
authors.affiliation: Department of Computer Science, Franciscan University of Steubenville.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Coleman
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Franciscan University of Steubenville; dkuebler@franciscan.edu.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kuebler
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000502:physiology*; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D008124:Locomotion / Q000502:physiology; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology; D012640:Seizures / Q000503:physiopathology; D012984:Software; D014741:Video Recording / Q000379:methods*