title: Comparison of automated home-cage monitoring systems: emphasis on feeding behaviour, activity and spatial learning following pharmacological interventions.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Different automated systems have been developed to facilitate long-term and continuous assessment of behaviours including locomotor activity, feeding behaviour and circadian activity.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study assessed the effectiveness of three different observation systems as methods for determining strain and pharmacological induced differences in locomotor activity, feeding behaviour and spatial learning. The effect of the CB1 antagonist AM251 on feeding behaviour was determined in the PhenoMaster and PhenoTyper. Next, effects of cholinergic (scopolamine) and glutamatergic (Phenylcyclidine, PCP) receptor antagonism and dopaminergic agonism (apomorphine) on activity were assessed in the PhenoTyper and IntelliCage. Finally, the IntelliCage was utilised to determine differences in activity and spatial learning of C57BL/6 and DBA/2 mouse strains following pharmacological intervention.
  
  
  RESULTS
  AM251 induced a suppression of food intake, feeding behaviour and a reduction in body weight in both the PhenoTyper and PhenoMaster. Apomorphine reduced activity in both the PhenoTyper and IntelliCage. Whereas, decreased activity was evident with PCP in the PhenoTyper, but not IntelliCage and Scopolamine induced a trend towards elevated levels of activity in the IntelliCage but not PhenoTyper. Strain differences in activity and spatial learning were also evident, with increased corner visits and drug induced impairments only observed with C57BL/6 mice.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The automated home cage observation systems determined similar drug and strain effects on behaviour to those observed using traditional methods.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  All three observation systems reported drug-induced changes in behaviour however, they differ in their application of spatial learning tasks and utilisation of single versus group housed recordings.
authors.affiliation: School of Medical Sciences, College of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Aberdeen, Institute of Medical Sciences, Foresterhill, Aberdeen, AB25 2ZD, Scotland, UK. Electronic address: l.x.strachan@dundee.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Lianne
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Robinson
authors.affiliation: School of Medical Sciences, College of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Aberdeen, Institute of Medical Sciences, Foresterhill, Aberdeen, AB25 2ZD, Scotland, UK.
authors.forename: Gernot
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Riedel
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001058:Apomorphine / Q000494:pharmacology; D018680:Cholinergic Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D018491:Dopamine Agonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D001330:Electronic Data Processing; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D005106:Exploratory Behavior / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D049673:History, 20th Century; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008811:Mice, Inbred DBA; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D010622:Phencyclidine / Q000494:pharmacology; D010880:Piperidines / Q000494:pharmacology; D011720:Pyrazoles / Q000494:pharmacology; D012601:Scopolamine / Q000494:pharmacology; D065853:Spatial Learning / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D018680:Cholinergic Antagonists; D018491:Dopamine Agonists; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists; D010880:Piperidines; D011720:Pyrazoles; C103505:AM 251; D012601:Scopolamine; D010622:Phencyclidine; D001058:Apomorphine
keywords: Food intake; Home cage; Locomotor activity; Mice; Spatial learning