Dataset Information

Micturition video thermography in awake, behaving mice.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Our understanding of the neural circuits controlling micturition and continence is constrained by a paucity of techniques for measuring voiding in awake, behaving mice.

New method

To facilitate progress in this area, we developed a new, non-invasive assay, micturition video thermography (MVT), using a down-facing thermal camera above mice on a filter paper floor.

Results

Most C57B6/J mice void infrequently, with a stereotyped behavioral sequence, and usually in a corner. The timing of each void is indicated by the warm thermal contrast of freshly voided urine. Over the following 10-15?min, urine cools to ?3?°C below the ambient temperature and spreads radially in the filter paper. By measuring the area of cool contrast comprising this "thermal void spot," we can derive the initially voided volume. Thermal videos also reveal mouse behaviors including a home-corner preference apart from void spots, and a stereotyped, seconds-long pause while voiding.

Comparison with existing methods and conclusions

MVT is a robust, non-invasive method for measuring the timing, volume, and location of voiding. It improves on an existing technique, the void spot assay, by adding timing information, and unlike the cystometrogram preparation, MVT does not require surgical catheterization. Combining MVT with current neuroscience techniques will improve our understanding of the neural circuits that control continence, which is important for addressing the growing number of patients with urinary incontinence as the population ages.

SUBMITTER: Verstegen AM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6942227 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Micturition video thermography in awake, behaving mice.

Verstegen Anne M AM Tish Margaret M MM Szczepanik Luca P LP Zeidel Mark L ML Geerling Joel C JC

Journal of neuroscience methods 20191206

<h4>Background</h4>Our understanding of the neural circuits controlling micturition and continence is constrained by a paucity of techniques for measuring voiding in awake, behaving mice.<h4>New method</h4>To facilitate progress in this area, we developed a new, non-invasive assay, micturition video thermography (MVT), using a down-facing thermal camera above mice on a filter paper floor.<h4>Results</h4>Most C57B6/J mice void infrequently, with a stereotyped behavioral sequence, and usually in a ...[more]

PMID: 31812917

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Project description:Lower limb paralysis from spinal cord injury (SCI) or neurological disease carries a poor prognosis for recovery and remains a large societal burden. Neurophysiological and neuroprosthetic research have the potential to improve quality of life for these patients; however, the lack of an ethical and sustainable nonhuman primate model for paraplegia hinders their advancement. Therefore, our multidisciplinary team developed a way to induce temporary paralysis in awake behaving macaques by creating a fully implantable lumbar epidural catheter-subcutaneous port system that enables easy and reliable targeted drug delivery for sensorimotor blockade. During treadmill walking, aliquots of 1.5% lidocaine with 1:200,000 epinephrine were percutaneously injected into the ports of three rhesus macaques while surface electromyography (EMG) recorded muscle activity from their quadriceps and gastrocnemii. Diminution of EMG amplitude, loss of voluntary leg movement, and inability to bear weight were achieved for 60-90 min in each animal, followed by a complete recovery of function. The monkeys remained alert and cooperative during the paralysis trials and continued to take food rewards, and the ports remained functional after several months. This technique will enable recording from the cortex and/or spinal cord in awake behaving nonhuman primates during the onset, maintenance, and resolution of paraplegia for the first time, thus opening the door to answering basic neurophysiological questions about the acute neurological response to spinal cord injury and recovery. It will also negate the need to permanently injure otherwise high-value research animals for certain experimental paradigms aimed at developing and testing neural interface decoding algorithms for patients with lower extremity dysfunction.NEW & NOTEWORTHY A novel implantable lumbar epidural catheter-subcutaneous port system enables targeted drug delivery and induction of temporary paraplegia in awake, behaving nonhuman primates. Three macaques displayed loss of voluntary leg movement for 60-90 min after injection of lidocaine with epinephrine, followed by a full recovery. This technique for the first time will enable ethical live recording from the proximal central nervous system during the acute onset, maintenance, and resolution of paraplegia.

Dataset Information

Micturition video thermography in awake, behaving mice.

Background

New method

Results

Comparison with existing methods and conclusions

Publications

Micturition video thermography in awake, behaving mice.

Similar Datasets

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