A Novel Home Cage Monitoring System for Group housed mice

Under laboratory conditions mice are housed in small groups, in caging where they can carry out

their daily activities such as eat, sleep, drink, groom and interact with each other. Studying changes

in these routines and social interactions can provide us with large amounts of relevant information

on the way a disease can affect their lives and help inform welfare decisions.

 

Scientists at MRC Harwell, in collaboration with Actual Analytics, Edinburgh, have developed a

system which is capable of tracking individual mice in group housed conditions over long periods of

time, and record their behaviours. The Home Cage Analysis System provides new insights into the

effects of genetic background on individual and group behaviours in mice.

 

Authors: RS Bains, HL Cater, RR Sillito, A Chartsias, D Sneddon, D Concas, P Keskivali-Bond, TC Lukins,

S Wells, A Acevedo Arozena, PM Nolan and JD Armstrong.

Journal Article: http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2016.00106