Visual stimuli maze test for detecting visual abnormalities in prodromal Alzheimer's disease and in Alzheimer's disease

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11425889-B2
Application number	US-201716301585-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 2, 2017
Priority date	Jun 2, 2016
Publication date	Aug 30, 2022
Grant date	Aug 30, 2022

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a rodent and human behavioral test for evaluating visual dysfunctions associated with the retinal changes in Alzheimer disease progression. In one example, the inventors developed a maze that tests rodent's ability to identify (1) specific contrasts, (2) specific colors, (3) certain items in the visual field, and (4) other ‘non-typical’ peripheral and night vision functions associated with AD. For instance, the inventors developed a maze the tests the rodents ability to avoid certain colors or contrasts gradients. The maze may include certain rooms with specific visual markers (e.g., colors, contrasts, objects or other visual features) that also contain shock plates.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A maze for evaluating a rodent, the maze comprising:
a first room including a first visual marker;
a second room including a second visual marker;
a third room including a third visual marker; and
a fourth room including a fourth visual marker;
each of the first, second, third, and fourth rooms including side walls, a base floor, a floor plate, a cover positioned on the side walls, and an insertion gap between the floor plate and the base floor, the floor plate positioned above the base floor;
wherein each of the first, second, third, and fourth visual markers is positioned in the respective insertion gap of the first, second, third, and fourth rooms;
wherein the first, second, third, and fourth rooms are configured to allow the rodent to traverse between the rooms;
wherein, in each of the first, second, third, and fourth rooms, the respective cover and the respective floor plates are configured to provide homogenized illumination by diffusing light from each of the first, second, third, and fourth visual markers respectively; and
wherein each of the first visual marker, the second visual marker, the third visual marker, and the fourth visual marker is configured to illuminate, through the respective floor plate, an entirety of the first room, the second room, the third room, and the fourth room respectively.

2. The maze of claim 1 , wherein the first visual marker, the second visual marker, the third visual marker, and the fourth visual marker are light sources emitting light at different wavelengths from one another.

3. The maze of claim 2 , wherein each of the first visual marker, the second visual marker, the third visual marker, and the fourth visual marker comprises one or more light emitting diode (LED) strings.

4. The maze of claim 1 , wherein the first, second, third, and fourth visual markers comprise at least four different hues of a color; and wherein any two of the first, second, third, and fourth visual markers have a contrast difference.

5. The maze of claim 1 , wherein the first, second, third, and fourth visual markers are light sources emitting light in different colors.

6. The maze of claim 2 , wherein the first visual marker emits light at a green light wavelength range, the second visual marker emits light at a red light wavelength range, the third visual marker emits light at a blue light range, and the fourth visual marker emits light at a white light wavelength range.

7. The maze of claim 2 , further comprising a remote controller communicatively coupled to the light sources; and wherein respective intensities of light emitted from the light sources are adjustable through the remote controller.

8. The maze of claim 1 , wherein the sidewalls are black; and wherein the floor plates and the covers are transparent.

9. The maze of claim 1 , wherein the first room, the second room, the third room, and the fourth room extend from a central arena.

10. The maze of claim 9 , wherein each of the first room, the second room, the third room, and the fourth room has a respective length greater than a central length of the central arena.

11. The maze of claim 1 , wherein the first room, the second room, the third room, and the fourth room are configured such that upon entering any of the first, second, third, or fourth rooms, the rodent is fully immersed in respective illumination provided by the first, second, third, or fourth visual markers.

12. The maze of claim 1 , wherein each of the first, second, third, and fourth rooms is positioned along a respective central axis that runs from a shared location in the central arena; and wherein each of the first, second, third, and fourth rooms extends outward at 90 degrees from two of the other rooms and 180 degrees from a third of the other rooms.

13. The maze of claim 8 , wherein any two of the first, second, third, and fourth visual markers have a contrast difference.

14. A maze for evaluating a rodent, the maze comprising:
a plurality of rooms, each of the plurality of rooms comprising a floor plate, a base floor, side walls, a removable cover on top of the side walls, and a set of light emitting diodes (LEDs), the set of LEDs positioned below the floor plate and within an LED insertion gap between the floor plate and the base floor;
w herein the plurality of rooms are configured to allow the rodent to traverse between the rooms;
w herein, in each of the plurality of rooms, the set of LEDs, the respective removable cover, and the respective floor plates are configured to provide homogenized illumination of an entirety of the respective arm; and
w herein each set of LEDs errits light at different wavelength ranges.

15. A maze for evaluating a rodent, the maze comprising:
a first room including a first visual marker;
a second room including a second visual marker;
a third room including a third visual marker; and
a fourth room including a fourth visual marker;
each of the first, second, third, and fourth rooms including side walls, a base floor, a floor plate, and an insertion gap between the floor plate and the base floor, the floor plate positioned above the base floor;
wherein each of the first, second, third, and fourth visual markers is a set of LEDs;
wherein each of the first, second, third, and fourth visual markers is positioned in the respective insertion gap of the first, second, third, and fourth rooms;
wherein the first, second, third, and fourth rooms are configured to allow the rodent to traverse between the rooms;
wherein in each room, each of the first visual marker, the second visual marker, the third visual marker, and the fourth visual marker is configured to illuminate the respective floor plate to provide a first contrast difference between the respective side walls and the respective floor plate; and
wherein each of the first, second, third, and fourth visual markers are configured to have a second contrast difference with respect to any of the other three visual markers.

Assignees

• Cedars Sinai Medical Center

Inventors

• Koronyo Maya
• Koronyo Yosef
• Black Keith L

Classifications

• A61B3/0091

  Fixation targets for viewing direction · CPC title

• A61B2503/40

  Animals · CPC title

• A01K1/031 Primary

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

• A61B3/06

  for testing light sensitivity, e.g. adaptation; for testing colour vision · CPC title

• A61B5/4088

  Diagnosing of monitoring cognitive diseases, e.g. Alzheimer, prion diseases or dementia · CPC title