Course catalogue doctoral education - VT24

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Title Behavioral phenotyping and cognitive studies in rodents
Course number 3074
Programme Neurovetenskap
Language English
Credits 1.5
Notes A Laboratory Animal Science course.

Date 2018-10-22 -- 2018-10-26
Responsible KI department Institutionen för neurobiologi, vårdvetenskap och samhälle
Specific entry requirements Students need to have completed a laboratory animal science course equivalent to FELASA B or FELASA C level (Directive Function A, D - EU Directive 2010/63 art. 23-26).
Purpose of the course The course is aimed at students who are starting or have already started to use rodents for their research. The purpose of the course is to allow doctoral students to obtain theoretical and practical experience in an integrative manner in the most important behavioral tests used in behavioral phenotyping and in cognitive characterization of wild-type and transgenic mice. In particular the doctoral student will get the opportunity to obtain a solid understanding of the novel automated behavioral system IntelliCage (IC). IC allows simultaneous measurement of cognitive parameters including memory and learning, anxiety, ability to wait for ones turn, responses to natural reward, reversal learning, etc of >10 animals per IC in home cage setting. The ability of IC to measure >10 animals in home cage setting makes it an important future tool superior to classical single animal based tests.
Intended learning outcomes At the end of the course the participant should be able to
- know how to choose and understand the main rodent behavioral models and how to use them depending on the research question.
- critically evaluate protocols, interpret the results of previous studies and adapt behavioral protocols to their own research.
Contents of the course The course will give to the course participants the knowledge necessary to characterize rodent behavior using different paradigms such as Morris Water Maze, Y-maze, Open field and Fear conditioning, for basic characterisation of genetically modified rodents, for evaluation of novel drugs and for studying the effect of the environment. During the course the students will learn how to use IntelliCage to study mouse behavior including memory and learning in wild-type and transgenic mice. There is also a practical component where students will get hands-on-experience in the most common IC protocols used.
Teaching and learning activities The course is partly theoretical, partly practical, where lectures, laboratory demonstrations and practical sessions are integrated. During the practical sessions the student will design a behavioral study using the IntelliCage, with data collection and final analysis.
Compulsory elements All sessions and activities are necessary for the students to successfully pass the course. Missed parts of the course for justified absence will be compensated in agreement with the course director.
Examination A short answer and multiple-choice questioner or oral examination will be used to evaluate if the students have reached the required knowledge to successfully pass the course.
Literature and other teaching material Recommended literature:
1. Jacqueline N. Crawley What's Wrong With My Mouse?: Behavioral Phenotyping of Transgenic and Knockout Mice. Second Edition. Hoboken (New Jersey): John Wiley & Sons, 2007.
2. de Angelis MH, Chambon P, Brown S. Standards of Mouse Model Phenotyping. Wiley-Blackwell 2006.
3. Wahlsten D. Mouse Behavioral Testing How to Use Mice in Behavioral Neuroscience. Academic Press 2010.
4. Buccafusco JJ Methods of Behavior Analysis in Neuroscience, 2nd edition. CRC Press/Taylor & Francis, 2009.
Number of students 8 - 15
Selection of students Selection will be based on 1) the relevance of the course syllabus for the applicant's doctoral project (according to written motivation), 2) date for registration as a doctoral student (priority given to earlier registration date)
More information The course is given in Huddinge campus, Monday to Friday. The inventor of the IntelliCage system Dr Vootele has been invited to the course.
Additional course leader Dr Simone Tambaro and Dr Silvia Maioli are co-organizers.
Latest course evaluation Not available
Course responsible Per Nilsson
Institutionen för neurobiologi, vårdvetenskap och samhälle

Per.et.Nilsson@ki.se
Contact person Silvia Maioli
Institutionen för neurobiologi, vårdvetenskap och samhälle

silvia.maioli@ki.se


Simone Tambaro
Institutionen för neurobiologi, vårdvetenskap och samhälle

simone.tambaro@ki.se