Newly developed method for mouse olfactory behavior tests using an automatic video tracking system.
OBJECTIVE
The mouse is the most popular animal model in olfactory research. Behavior tests with odorants are essential for determining olfactory phenotype. To the best of our knowledge, the mouse olfactory behavior test has not been standardized, making the results vulnerable to inter-observer variation. We sought to develop a new mouse olfactory behavior test assessed by an automatic video tracking system with minimal inter-observer variation.


METHODS
A video-tracking system was used to automatically track mouse behavior in standard breeding cages with C57BL/6N mice. We tested two odorants (peanut butter for the preference test, 2MB acid for the avoidance test) and distilled water (for a control). Mouse behavior was recorded for 3min and analyzed. For the preference test, investigation time was measured. For the avoidance test, time spent in sectors away from the odorant zone was measured. To confirm our experimental settings, we also evaluated an anosmia mouse model prepared with intranasal administration of ZnSO4.


RESULTS
All strains of mice showed reproducible behavior patterns of preference or avoidance for the odorants. The anosmia mouse model, as expected, failed to show an olfactory ability for preference or avoidance, and this was well-matched by histologic changes caused by the ZnSO4treatment. The automatic video tracking system successfully tracked and automatically calculated mouse behavior with good reproducibility.


CONCLUSIONS
Our olfactory behavior test offers a simple and accurate method to evaluate olfactory function in mice. This test can be utilized as a possible standard method to search for features of olfactory phenotypes in mice.
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea; The Research Center for Human Natural Defense System, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Hyung-Ju
HJ
Cho
The Research Center for Human Natural Defense System, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Yong Hyuk
YH
Lee
The Research Center for Human Natural Defense System, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Bo Ra
BR
Kim
Korea Mouse Sensory Phenotyping Center (KMSPC), Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Hong-Kyung
HK
Kim
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Hyo Jin
HJ
Chung
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Sang Chul
SC
Park
Laboratory of Developmental Biology and Genomics, Institute for Veterinary Science, and BK21 Program for Veterinary Science, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea; Korea Mouse Phenotyping Center (KMPC), Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Je Kyung
JK
Seong
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea; The Research Center for Human Natural Defense System, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea; The Airway Mucus Institute, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea; Korea Mouse Sensory Phenotyping Center (KMSPC), Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Joo-Heon
JH
Yoon
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea; The Research Center for Human Natural Defense System, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea; The Airway Mucus Institute, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea; Korea Mouse Sensory Phenotyping Center (KMSPC), Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: entman@yuhs.ac.
Chang-Hoon
CH
Kim
D000818:Animals; D001070:Appetitive Behavior; D000067290:Behavior Rating Scale; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D023421:Models, Animal; D009812:Odorants; D000857:Olfaction Disorders; D009831:Olfactory Mucosa / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D012903:Smell / Q000502:physiology*; D014741:Video Recording
Anosmia; Avoidance; Behavior; Mouse; Olfactory test; Preference