Instrumented device for characterising the capacity of a mouse to orientate itself

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11219193-B2
Application number	US-201615746343-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 22, 2016
Priority date	Jul 24, 2015
Publication date	Jan 11, 2022
Grant date	Jan 11, 2022

Abstract

A device is provided for studying the ability of at least one mouse to find its bearings in a maze, the device including a plurality of houses distributed around a central agora and in which at least one stimulator allows the at least one mouse to carry out certain activities and/or satisfy certain primary needs. Each house further includes at least one sensor for measuring the activity of the mouse in the house, and more particularly its use of the at least one stimulator. Finally, a sensor makes it possible to detect and measure the movements of each mouse in the device. Quantitative parameters originating from these measurements thus make it possible to highlight the quality of the geographical memory of the at least one mouse.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A device for studying the topographical memory of at least one mouse, the device comprising:
a central space, called the agora, open on at least one side;
a plurality of closed spaces, called houses, located at the periphery of the agora, said houses being open on one side and connected to at least one traffic space, called a street, allowing the at least one mouse to reach the agora;
a plurality of means of stimulation of the at least one mouse located in the plurality of houses; and
said at least one traffic space forms a maze that is arranged in such a way that the distances between the agora and each house are identical, each house being accessible from the agora via at least two direct paths of the same length, all of the direct paths connecting each house to the agora being of equal length.

2. The device according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a plurality of sensors arranged for measuring the activity of the at least one mouse with the plurality of means of stimulation; and
a processing unit arranged for determining behavioral parameters of the at least one mouse in said device from measurements made by the plurality of sensors.

3. The device according to claim 2 , wherein the plurality of means of stimulation comprises a food distributor, and in that the plurality of sensors comprises at least one sensor arranged for measuring the volume of food eaten by the at least one mouse and/or the number of usages of said food distributor and/or the time spent using it.

4. The device according to claim 3 , wherein the food distributor comprises:
a main reservoir for food and a feeding reservoir connected to the main reservoir; and
a flap located between the main reservoir and the feeding reservoir, said flap being arranged to open and close automatically depending on the level of food present in the feeding reservoir.

5. The device according to claim 2 , wherein the plurality of means of stimulation comprises at least one drink distributor and in that the plurality of sensors comprises at least one sensor arranged for measuring the volume of liquid drunk by the at least one mouse, the number of times each drink distributor is used or the time spent using it.

6. The device according to claim 5 , wherein the drink distributor comprises:
at least one liquid dispenser containing a liquid; and
a teat located at the base of said liquid dispenser.

7. The device according to claim 2 , wherein the plurality of means of stimulation comprises a games platform comprising at least one tube arranged so that the at least one mouse can pass through it, and in that the plurality of sensors comprises a camera for measuring the activity of the at least one mouse in the at least one tube.

8. The device according to claim 2 , wherein the plurality of means of stimulation comprises a running platform comprising at least one activity wheel, and in that the plurality of sensors comprises at least one sensor for measuring the number of revolutions of the wheel carried out, the average speed, the instantaneous speed or the usage time of each activity wheel.

9. The device according to claim 2 , wherein the plurality of means of stimulation comprises an openwork cage of dimensions suitable for receiving another mouse and arranged to allow the at least one mouse located in the house to touch the other mouse located in said cage, and in that the plurality of sensors comprises a camera for measuring their interaction.

10. The device according to claim 2 , wherein the plurality of sensors comprises at least one sensor for detecting and measuring the movements of the at least one mouse inside the maze.

11. The device according to claim 10 , wherein at least a part of the floor of said device is made of a material that is transparent to infrared radiation.

12. The device according to claim 11 , further comprising:
at least one infrared source located on a first side of the device and arranged for uniformly illuminating the floor of said device; and
at least one camera sensitive to infrared radiation located on a second side of the device and arranged for measuring the movements of the at least one mouse in the maze by detecting its shadow on the floor of said device.

13. A method for evaluating the ability of at least one mouse to orientate itself in a device for studying the topographical memory of the at least one mouse wherein the device includes a central space, called the agora, open on at least one side, a plurality of closed spaces, called houses, located at the periphery of the agora, said houses being open on one side and connected to at least one traffic space, called a street, allowing the at least one mouse to reach the agora, a plurality of means of stimulation of the at least one mouse located in the plurality of houses where said at least one traffic space forms a maze that is arranged in such a way that the distances between the agora and each house are identical, each house being accessible from the agora via at least two direct paths of the same length, all of the direct paths connecting each house to the agora being of equal length, the method comprising:
at least one learning step consisting of leaving said at least one mouse in the device for a predetermined time, called the learning time;
a step of depriving said at least one mouse of at least one of water and food for a period of time, called the deprivation time;
a testing step, during which the at least one mouse is put back into the device; and
an error determination step in which the processing unit determines the number of errors made on the path to each house, the travel time for entering each house, or the path taken by the at least one mouse.

14. The method according to claim 13 , further comprising a step of constructing the device to further include:
a plurality of sensors arranged for measuring the activity of the at least one mouse with the plurality of means of stimulation, wherein at least one sensor of said plurality of sensors is configured to detect and measure movements of the at least one mouse inside the maze; and
a processing unit arranged for determining behavioral parameters of the at least one mouse in said device from measurements made by the plurality of sensors.

Assignees

• Univ Montpellier
• Inst Nat Sante Rech Med
• Ecole Pratique Des Hautes Etudes
• Institut National De La Sante Et De La Rech Medicale—Inserm

Inventors

• Maurice Tangui

Classifications

• A61B5/1122

  of movement trajectories · CPC title

• A61B2503/40

  Animals · CPC title

• A01K1/031 Primary

  Cages for laboratory animals; Cages for measuring metabolism of animals · CPC title

• A01K15/02

  Training or exercising equipment, e.g. mazes or labyrinths for animals (A01K15/04 takes precedence) {; Electric shock devices; Toys specially adapted for animals} · CPC title

• A61B5/1113

  Local tracking of patients, e.g. in a hospital or private home · CPC title