Technological and Physical Enhancements for Primate Behavioral Testing Suites

灵长类动物行为测试套件的技术和物理增强

• 批准号: 8902409
• 负责人: Nancy L Haigwood
• 金额: $ 49.78万
• 依托单位: OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2015-08-21 至 2017-08-20
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/8902409
• 关键词: Animal Disease Models; Animal Model; Animals; Behavior; Behavior assessment; Behavioral; Computer software; Computers; Data; Development; Devices; Diabetes Mellitus; Equipment; Faculty; Funding; Goals; Grant; Health; Housing; Human; Immunology; Individual; Interruption; Lighting; Metabolism; Modeling; Monitor; Monkeys; Needs Assessment; Neurosciences; Obesity; Oregon; Output; Primates; Principal Investigator; Procedures; Research; Research Personnel; Safety; Science; Services; Signal Transduction; Surface; System; Telemetry; Testing; Travel; awake; base; behavior observation; behavior test; building materials; cognitive task; cognitive testing; data acquisition; design; human disease; improved; new technology; nonhuman primate; reproductive; response; sound; success; touchscreen; vocalization

 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The Oregon National Primate Research Center (ONPRC) is one of eight National Primate Research Centers whose focus is to develop and to provide models for human disease for investigators who are exploring ways to improve human health. The ONPRC has over 40 faculty principal investigators who are involved in research using nonhuman primate (NHP) models in four scientific divisions: 1) Neuroscience; 2) Reproductive & Developmental Sciences; 3) Pathobiology & Immunology; and 4) Diabetes, Obesity & Metabolism. An increasing number of these studies involve the assessment of behaviors, and for this reason the Center constructed a cluster of eight behavioral testing suites intended for shared use and located within the Animal Services Building-3. These suites provide individual enclosed spaces as operant chambers for NHP behavioral observations and anterooms for observers/computers to record responses to testing. NHPs are not housed in these rooms and there is no permanent equipment in the spaces. The number of studies that include assessment of various aspects of primate behaviors relevant to our animal models of disease has increased significantly since the current behavioral testing suites were constructed. In addition to adding new technologies for assessing behavior, we have also expanded the number of animal models under study, driven in part by our success in funding this type of research. However, as more projects are funded, both technological and physical enhancements are needed to enhance the research and improve NHP well being. In this application, we are proposing to upgrade facilities that were designed and built a decade ago for this purpose, but that were built according to a different set of standards because much or all of the experimental data were acquired using anesthetized monkeys. Presently, sound travels readily between rooms, and vocalization of primates that are awake in one room disrupts the focus of the test subjects in all other rooms. Our goal is to better accommodate non-anesthetized (awake) animals in cognitive testing, which is the type of assessment needed for our currently funded grants. We propose to modernize the procedures that use computer-based data acquisition systems by providing touch screens for chambers in every room, and through the addition of a computer server with software for data acquisition, data output, and initial analyses of the various cognitive tasks. We also plan to install a monitor in the external hallway at the suite entrance for the capture of all suite activities into a single split screen, to both enhance safety and limit interruptions. Our specific aims are to: (1) Add sound-dampening building materials to walls and insulation to ceilings in individual testing rooms; (2) Enhance ambiance by removing reflective surfaces and changing lighting to variable, non- fluorescent lights that include dimming devices; (3) Provide electrical signal disruption between observation rooms to assist in telemetry; and (4) Enhance the ability to perform and monitor remote data acquisition in the behavioral suites.

 描述（由适用提供）：俄勒冈州国家灵长类动物研究中心（ONPRC）是八个国家灵长类动物研究中心之一，其重点是为正在探索改善人类健康方法的研究人员开发并为人类疾病提供模型。 ONPRC有40多名教职员工研究人员在四个科学部门中使用非人类灵长类动物（NHP）模型参与研究：1）神经科学； 2）生殖和发展科学； 3）病理生物学和免疫学； 4）糖尿病，肥胖和代谢。这些研究的数量越来越多，涉及对行为的评估，因此，该中心构建了八个行为测试套件的集群，该套件旨在共享使用，并位于建筑物3的动物服务中。这些套房为NHP行为观察和观察者/计算机的间隔提供了单独的封闭空间作为操作室，以记录对测试的响应。 NHP不容纳在这些房间中，空间中没有永久设备。自从当前的行为测试套件构建了与我们的疾病动物模型相关的灵长类动物行为的各个方面的研究数量已大大增加。除了添加用于评估行为的新技术外，我们还扩大了研究的动物模型数量，部分原因是我们在资助这类研究方面的成功驱动。但是，随着越来越多的项目的资助，需要技术和身体增强功能来增强研究并改善NHP的健康状况。在此应用程序中，我们提议升级十年前为此目的设计和建造的设施，但是是根据不同的标准构建的，因为大部分或全部实验数据是使用麻醉猴子获得的。目前，声音很容易在房间之间传播，而在一个房间中醒着的隐私发声会破坏所有其他房间中测试对象的焦点。我们的目标是更好地适应认知测试中的非麻醉（清醒）动物，这是我们目前资助的赠款所需的评估类型。我们建议通过在每个房间中为Chambers提供触摸屏，以及通过添加带有用于数据获取，数据输出的软件，数据输出以及对各种认知任务的初始分析的计算机服务器的触摸屏来现代化使用基于计算机的数据采集系统的过程。我们还计划在套件入口的外部走廊中安装监视器，以将所有套件活动捕获到单个拆分屏幕中，以提高安全性并限制中断。我们的具体目的是：（1）在单个测试室的天花板上添加隔音的建筑材料以及隔热材料； （2）通过去除反射表面并将照明变成可变的非荧光灯，包括调光设备，从而增强氛围； （3）在观察室之间提供电信号破坏以帮助遥测； （4）增强行为套件中执行和监视远程数据采集的能力。