SBIR-STTR Award

A Robust, Automated, Flexible System For Mouse Behavioral Informatics
Award last edited on: 11/16/11

Sponsored Program
SBIR
Awarding Agency
NIH : NIMH
Total Award Amount
$348,950
Award Phase
1
Solicitation Topic Code
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Principal Investigator
Barton Selby

Company Information

Ethologics Inc

256 Windsor Drive
San Carlos, CA 94070
   (650) 245-1974
   N/A
   www.ethologics.net
Location: Single
Congr. District: 14
County: San Mateo

Phase I

Contract Number: 1R43MH094132-01
Start Date: 4/15/11    Completed: 3/31/13
Phase I year
2011
Phase I Amount
$348,950
Diseases that disrupt the central nervous system (CNS) are major public health problems with devastating consequences for afflicted individuals, their families, and society. Understanding the mechanisms underlying CNS diseases and discovering efficacious new treatments for these disorders relies critically on preclinical in vivo behavioral research. Despite tremendous advances in genetics and molecular biology, the success rate for CNS drugs in human clinical trials is only 8%. For many human CNS disorders, disease pathology is poorly understood and impacts multiple behavioral domains resulting in complex phenotypes. This creates a need for comprehensive behavioral assessment in animal models to capture the breadth of behavioral disruption so frequently observed in human CNS diseases. However, current approaches for automated behavioral monitoring do not provide the analytic tools required to categorize and integrate broad and continuous behavioral data streams into an interpretable context. A novel academic prototype system has been developed to collect long-duration, high-resolution data for multiple behaviors exhibited by mice in home cages (e.g. patterns of feeding/drinking and rest/activity, circadian entrainment). Similar behaviors are frequently disrupted by human disease process. This academic prototype uses sophisticated algorithms to identify fundamental behavioral building blocks and characterize their regulation and coordination over a wide range of time scales. This innovation in behavioral analysis makes this prototype a unique platform for the development of a new preclinical behavioral assessment technology. The short-term goal of this proposal is to convert the basic functionality of the academic prototype into a scalable commercial system for automated mouse home cage data collection and analysis. This will (1) greatly decrease the time and cost required for behavioral investigations, (2) increase the sensitivity with which experimental effects on behavior may be detected, (3) increase reproducibility of data, (4) provide novel insights into integrated behavioral analysis, and (5) complement or replace standard individual and separate focal behavioral tests. Our long-term goal is to develop a technology that significantly improves early predictability of drug therapies for CNS diseases such as obesity, addiction, insomnia, neurodegenerative, anxiety, and affective disorders.

Public Health Relevance:
Diseases that disrupt the central nervous system (CNS) are major public health problems with devastating consequences for afflicted individuals, their families, and society. The success rate for CNS drugs in human clinical trials is low (~8%) and could be improved by developing better tools for preclinical behavioral assessment in animal models. This proposal aims to develop a unique and powerful new technology for robust, automated, and comprehensive behavioral analysis of preclinical CNS disease models to facilitate discovery of new treatments for CNS diseases.

Thesaurus Terms:
5-Ht(2c) Receptor;5-Ht2c Receptor;5-Hydroxytryptamine Type 2c Receptors;Address;Affective Disorders;Algorithms;Analysis, Data;Animal Model;Animal Models And Related Studies;Anxiety Disorders;Behavior;Behavior Disorders;Behavior Assessment;Behavioral;Behavioral Research;Benzeneethanamine, N,Alpha-Dimethyl-, (S)-;Budgets;Cns Diseases;Cns Agent;Cns Disorder;Central Nervous System;Central Nervous System Agents;Central Nervous System Diseases;Central Nervous System Disorders;Central Nervous System Drugs;Circadian Rhythms;Clinical Trials;Clinical Trials, Unspecified;Complement 5;Complement C5;Complement Component 5;Complement Component C5;Complex;Computer Programs;Computer Software;Controlled Environment;Crystal Meth;Dna Molecular Biology;Data;Data Analyses;Data Collection;Data Set;Dataset;Degenerative Diseases, Nervous System;Degenerative Neurologic Disorders;Deoxyephedrine;Desoxyephedrine;Development;Devices;Disease;Disease Model;Disorder;Diurnal Rhythm;Drug Therapy;Dysfunction;Eating;Environment;Environment, Controlled;Exhibits;Family;Feeding Patterns;Food Intake;Functional Disorder;Genes;Genetic;Genetic Alteration;Genetic Change;Genetic Defect;Goals;Home;Home Environment;Human;Human, General;Individual;Informatics;Insomnia;Insomnia Disorder;Investigation;Investigators;Leptin;Light;Liquid Substance;Locomotion;Mammals, Mice;Man (Taxonomy);Man, Modern;Marketing;Methamphetamine;Methylamphetamine;Mice;Mice, Mutant Strains;Modeling;Molecular Biology;Monitor;Mood Disorders;Murine;Mus;Mutant Strains Mice;Mutation;N-Methylamphetamine;Nervous System, Cns;Neural Pathways;Neuraxis;Neurodegenerative Diseases;Neurodegenerative Disorders;Neurologic Degenerative Conditions;Neurologic Diseases, Degenerative;Nyctohemeral Rhythm;Ob Gene Product;Ob Protein;Obese Gene Product;Obese Mice;Obese Protein;Obesity;Oral;Output;Pathology;Pattern;Pharmacotherapy;Phenotype;Photoradiation;Physiopathology;Process;Programs (Pt);Programs [publication Type];Public Health;Publishing;Receptor, Serotonin, 5-Ht2c;Regulation;Reproducibility;Research Personnel;Researchers;Resolution;Rest;Serotonin 2c Receptor;Sleep;Sleeplessness;Societies;Software;Speed;Speed (Motion);Stream;System;System, Loinc Axis 4;Technology;Time;Twenty-Four Hour Rhythm;Active Control;Addiction;Adiposity;Artificial Environment;Behavior Test;Behavioral Assessment;Behavioral Disorder;Behavioral Test;Centrally Acting Drug;Circadian;Circadian Process;Clinical Investigation;Clinical Relevance;Clinically Relevant;Computer Program /Software;Computer Program/Software;Computerized Data Processing;Controlled Environment;Corpulence;Corpulency;Corpulentia;Cost;Daily Biorhythm;Data Acquisition;Data Processing;Design;Designing;Disease /Disorder;Disease/Disorder;Disorder Model;Diurnal Variation;Drinking;Drug Discovery;Feeding;Flexibility;Fluid;Genetics;Genome Mutation;Human Disease;Improved;In Vivo;Innovate;Innovation;Innovative;Insight;Liquid;Meetings;Model;Model Organism;Mouse Mutant;Neurodegenerative Illness;New Technology;Novel;Ob/Ob Mouse;Obese;Obese People;Obese Person;Obese Population;Pathophysiology;Pre-Clinical;Preclinical;Programs;Prototype;Public Health Medicine (Field);Response;Sensor;Signal Processing;Success;Tool

Phase II

Contract Number: ----------
Start Date: 00/00/00    Completed: 00/00/00
Phase II year
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Phase II Amount
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