Automated quantification of head-twitch response in mice via ear tag reporter coupled with biphasic detection.

Abstract

<h4>Background</h4>Head-twitch response (HTR) is a manifestation of the serotonergic system behavioral pharmacology commonly used as a proxy of psychedelic drug action in rodents.<h4>New method</h4>We developed a minimally invasive magnetic ear tag reporter and designed a detection system that performs a comprehensive characterization of each potential HTR event on an electromagnetic readout.<h4>Results</h4>Magnetic ear tags were easy to install and generally well tolerated by the animals. On the low-threshold first phase of detection, the tags' signal recorded in a magnetometer was filtered and screened for potential HTR events. On the second phase, the detector performed a comprehensive spectral analysis evaluation of each event and identified the HTR characteristic distribution of power density. Our system delivered satisfactory performance in the identification of pharmacologically-induced HTR and discrimination power against common non-HTR behaviors.<h4>Comparison with existing methods</h4>Our system offers a high-throughput solution for studying HTR in mice employing minimally invasive procedures and superior standalone discriminative power compared to our previously reported fully-automated approach.<h4>Conclusions</h4>High-throughput identification of HTR utilizing magnetic ear-tagging and biphasic detection delivers satisfactory detection and discrimination power employing less invasive procedures.

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Keywords