Dielenberg Robert A, Halasz Paul, Day Trevor A
School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Newcastle, and the Hunter Medical Research Institute, MS324 University Drive, Callaghan, NSW 2038, Australia.
J Neurosci Methods. 2006 Dec 15;158(2):279-86. doi: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2006.05.024. Epub 2006 Jul 5.
The automated tracking of rodents in open field environments has become a standard laboratory technique for the investigation of the effects of drugs, novel therapeutic interventions and genetic mutations on behavior. Here, we develop an extension of this technique that permits tracking in full darkness through a complex ('enriched') environment comprising naturalistic structures such as tunnels and hides. To eliminate unwanted light reflections and tape noise, we developed a unique video filter that combines the advantages of differential and non-differential filtering. This filter enabled the tracking of albino rats against a relatively dark background to an accuracy of approximately 97% compared to hand tracking of the same animal, irrespective of whether the rat was inside a hide box or tunnel or out in the open field. The system as a whole can be easily deployed using standard PCs and inexpensive infrared cameras and lights.
在开放场地环境中对啮齿动物进行自动跟踪，已成为研究药物、新型治疗干预措施和基因突变对行为影响的标准实验室技术。在此，我们对该技术进行了扩展，使其能够在完全黑暗的环境中，通过包含隧道和藏身之处等自然结构的复杂（“丰富”）环境进行跟踪。为了消除不必要的光反射和磁带噪声，我们开发了一种独特的视频滤波器，它结合了差分滤波和非差分滤波的优点。与对同一动物进行手动跟踪相比，该滤波器能够在相对黑暗的背景下跟踪白化大鼠，准确率约为97%，无论大鼠是在藏身箱内、隧道中还是在开放场地中。整个系统使用标准个人电脑以及廉价的红外摄像机和灯光即可轻松部署。
