Week 3

Hi! Here’s a little bit about my week:

I began to settle into a routine during week three and began understanding more about the mice and their innate behaviors compared to those that they exhibit in captivity. The BALB/c mice are not typically extremely aggressive mice strains and fall about half way on a scale of general aggression. However, the mice are shipped to the vivarium in crates where they live until they were rehoused with their new cage mates. This explains for the difference between “milder” cages in which fewer behaviors were notes versus the most aggressive cages that were ripping each other apart in the fight for dominance. 

This week we began to analyze some of the Day 2 data as it had all been collected early in the week. Through some analysis, our data strongly, strongly supported the use of enrichment devices to reduce the prevalence and severity of aggressive and violent behaviors inside the animal cages. However, without the ability to compare the results to the control days (Day 1) and the day in which hierarchies had already formed (Day 7) the data were still inconclusive, yet very promising. 

I got the opportunity to do another really cool thing this week! One of the researchers in the lab was conducting rat surgeries in the vivarium and I was able to watch. Although I was not familiar with the project she was working on, watching the surgery gave me a different aspect of animal research that I had not yet been exposed to. 

I also assisted in completing a WES plate with Bret today. Although I was mainly watching I learned a lot about the process and the very specific steps required to get an accurate and meaningful reading. 

See you next week!

Tasha

First successful WES plate!

Week 2

Welcome back!

Week 2 really began my work on my project. I learnt about the five categories of aggressive behaviors typically seen in BALB/c strains of mice. Based on Bret’s observation and familiarity with the mice, we developed a scale to rate behaviors at different levels of aggression. 

Score Sheets for Behavior Recordings

1 – Posturing: Posturing is defined as those behaviors that are not overtly aggressive but that are performed by the aggressor in the cage to show signs of dominance to the other mice. Common types of posturing behaviors include chasing, pouncing, barbering, vibrissae and mounting. Posturing behaviors tend to be one sided, unlike scuffles. 

2 – Scuffling: Scuffling, unlike posturing, involves a two-sided party in the incident and implies that aggressive behaviors were displayed by both or all of the animals involved in the scuffle.

3 – Biting: One of the more straight forward behaviors, biting is easy to spot and often leaves the recipient licking their wounds, an indication that blood was drawn. Biting can be of two general forms, the first is to condition, in which the aggressor in the cage will bite in the early hours of the second day to establish his place as the alpha. The second is more common among the later days of the study, where the dominant mouse will repeatedly bite the other mice to remind them of his place in the cage hierarchy. 

4 – Behavior resulting in an open wound: In cages where multiple mice have aggressive tendencies and have to fight to dominate the cage, biting is one of the most common and most vicious behaviors that also tends to lead to open sores and cuts among the other mice in the cage. These animal, so long as they are not posing a significant threat to themselves or any of the other animals are left alone.

5 – Behavior resulting in severe injury or death and the consequent removal of the injured mice from the study.

This week was really interesting and it was also my first glimpse into what my day to day job in the laboratory would be like. The videos proved to bring some significant challenges in terms of camera placement, amount of bedding given in the cage and size of the mice in the video. At lab meeting this week Bret presented some of his preliminary data from Day 2 and we spent some time talking about the different ways that data could be analyzed. 

Thanks for reading! See you next week!

Tasha

Week 1

Hi and Welcome to my blog!

Over the course of the next twelve weeks, I will be documenting my experiences from my Senior Research Project at the Arizona Biomedical Collaborative Neurotrauma Lab!

But first, here’s a little background on my project:

     I will be working alongside Bret Tallent, the Laboratory Manager here at Neurotrauma.     My main task will be assist him in analyzing and interpreting behavioral data from over fifty hours of video footage. Over the past two months, Bret recorded twelve hour periods of the mice behavior from six different cages, three with the modified enrichment device whose effectiveness we are testing, and three standard caging units. From each half hour segment of footage, we will be recording the mice behavior towards one another in the form of aggression scores. The majority of what I talk about on my blog will be about this project and the data I collect and analyze from the video footage.  

My first week at Neurotrauma was filled with introductions and instructions. Although I had limited laboratory experience before starting here, the atmosphere of the lab was much different than I expected it to be. Because the Neurotrauma lab is accustomed to having high school interns and volunteers in the lab, all the people I met were extremely helpful and patient as I learnt some basic, and other Neurotrauma specific laboratory rules.

Because of the nature of the research that is conducted at Neurotrauma, brains of rodents, specifically strains of domesticated Mice and Rats are used thoroughly and are often obtained from the animals housed in the off-site Vivarium. I was able to visit the Vivarium with Bret during my first week, where we traveled three stories underground into the animal housing facility. It was a very unique experience because it was completely different from what I expected it to be. Clean, sterile and bright, the animal facility houses the mice that are studying and I had a chance to see them (which were much, much smaller than I expected) and the camera set-up Bret had designed inside of the Vivarium to record the videos. 

I’m really glad I had a chance to see the animals before I started watching the videos because it helped me have a better sense, and in some ways, a stronger connection, with the project. Ultimately, the new enrichment device is designed to be more cost efficient, non-disruptive and invasive to researchers, and better for the well being of the animals. Seeing the animals beforehand made my understanding of the importance of this project much stronger.

During this week I also began my Lab Safety Training, which consisted of online assignments in the areas of Basic Laboratory Safety, and Chemical Safety.

Every Thursday morning is the Neurotrauma Laboratory meeting where the 10+ researchers in the Lab meet to discuss any lab business, current projects and bounce ideas off of one another. The Lab meeting was definitely a highlight of my week because I was able to see and appreciate the larger scope of the research that was being conducted around me!

Thanks for reading and I’ll see you in next week’s post!

Tasha

 

Research Proposal

Research Proposal

I. Title of Project: 

The Effects of Divided Caging in the Reduction of Mice Aggression

II. Statement of Purpose: 

Nearly 95% of all laboratory animals are either mice or rats. The basis for research in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, food, and medicine are largely dependent on cost effective, small rodents that can produce results similar to what would be expected from humans. Much like humans, mice fight. However, their fighting and aggression can be detrimental to the often minute behaviors or patterns that researchers look for and base their research on. My senior research project will be analyzing the effects of a new prototype cage divider that we predict will significantly reduce the amount of injury and contamination of data within an experiment by allowing the mice to have a sense of personal space within the larger cage. 

III. Background:

BALB/c is an albino, laboratory-bred strain of the House Mouse from which a number of common sub-strains are derived

Humans have used mice for scientific testing since the early 18th century and mice have become even more common since the rediscovery of Gregor Mendel's laws of inheritance and the Human Genome Project that mapped the entire mouse genome have allowed us to essentially choose certain characteristics, behaviors or traits that the researchers want to see in their subjects. Because mice are relatively inexpensive, and easy to transport and dispose of, the use of mice has grown exponentially. However, the standard housing cages for mice in most biomedical research, typically house five animals at a time. In the wild, mice live in burrows. Although mice are social animals, which is why the mimic humans in some crucial ways, they also need space without the interference of other animals. Because the current housing cages are open spaces with little "enrichment" they do not offer the animals any place to go outside of the line of sight of another, increasing the incidences of violence and aggression among the animals. 

IV. Significance:

 At the Arizona Biomedical Collaborative building, I work in a laboratory that primarily conducts research in the field of Traumatic Brain Injuries, most of which are examined upon mice or rats. The cage dividers we are testing could introduce a safer, more neutral environment for the mice in studies at this lab, and at others. In biomedical research, the behaviors that researchers often look for are extremely subtle and scientists work tirelessly to eliminate any confounding variables that could contaminate their data. Similarly, the severity of aggressive behaviors among the mice can lead to injuries or fatalities which result in the euthanasia of those animals, creating more expense and hassle for the researchers, and leading to the reckless disregard for animal life. If the cage dividers are effective, they will produce a cost-effective, simple solution to many of these issues and could potentially change the way animal research is conducted in laboratories all around the world. 

Standard disposable caging for most biomedical research

V. Research Methodology:

To observe the mice during their day and night cycles, we will be conducting behavioral research to identify the types and severity of aggressive behaviors among the animals. By ranking their behaviors and analyzing the data as is compares to "normal" behavior in cages without the dividers, we will be able to make a correlation between the use of the dividers and the events taking place within the cages.

VI. Anticipated Problems:

I anticipate a learning curve as it will take me some time to become familiar with "normal" behaviors for the animals before I can accurately analyze potentially aberrant behaviors. However, my mentor has worked with the mice extensively and I will rely on him, other mentors within the lab, and published work to augment my understanding of mice behavior throughout my project.