Comprehensive Phenotypic Data Packages

Neurological Disorders: Functional Observation Battery

The Functional Observation Battery is a series of situations applied to the animal to determine gross sensory and motor deficits. The assay consists of a subset of tests from the Irwin Neurological Screen and SHIRPA protocol that evaluate gross neurological function. In general, short-duration, tactile, olfactory, and visual stimuli are applied to an animal to determine its ability to detect and respond normally. These simple tests take approximately 10 minutes after which mice are returned to their home cage.

Observations are presented in table format as shown below

Behavior New CategoryGenotype
 Wild Type
(WT, +/+)		Heterozygote
(HET, +/-,-/+)		Homozygote
(HOM, -/-)
 n=8n=0n=8
General Health and Physical ConditionWTHETHOM
Whiskers Absent3 (38%)N/A3 (38%)
Bald Hair Patches Present4 (50%)N/A3 (38%)
Piloerection Present0 (0%)N/A0 (0%)
Exophthalmus Present4 (50%)N/A2 (25%)
Palpebral Closure Present0 (0%)N/A0 (0%)
Straub Tail Present2 (25%)N/A0 (0%)
Curly Kinked Tail Present0 (0%)N/A0 (0%)
Kyphosis Present0 (0%)N/A0 (0%)
Lordosis0 (0%)N/A0 (0%)
Spontaneous ActivityWTHETHOM
Exhibits Wild Running Behavior0 (0%)N/A0 (0%)
Exhibits Freezing Behavior0 (0%)N/A0 (0%)
Exhibits Sniffing Behavior0 (0%)N/A0 (0%)
Exhibits Licking Behavior0 (0%)N/A0 (0%)
Rearing Behavior Absent0 (0%)N/A0 (0%)
Exhibits Jumping Behavior0 (0%)N/A0 (0%)
Defecation Absent3 (38%)N/A2 (25%)
Urination1 (13%)N/A0 (0%)
Does Not Move All Around The Cage0 (0%)N/A0 (0%)
Head Bobbing Present0 (0%)N/A0 (0%)
Head Flicking Present0 (0%)N/A0 (0%)
Circling Present0 (0%)N/A0 (0%)
Waltzing Present0 (0%)N/A0 (0%)
Abnormal Gait Present0 (0%)N/A0 (0%)
Retropulsion Present0 (0%)N/A0 (0%)
Prancing Forelimbs Present0 (0%)N/A0 (0%)
Tail Suspension ResponseWTHETHOM
20 Second Tail Suspension Response - Normal Splay of Limbs8 (100%)N/A8 (100%)
20 Second Tail Suspension Response - Does Not Turn Up Sides0 (0%)N/A0 (0%)
20 Second Tail Suspension Response - Does Not Grab Ipsilateral Leg0 (0%)N/A0 (0%)
20 Second Tail Suspension Response - Does Not Grab Contralateral Leg0 (0%)N/A0 (0%)
20 Second Tail Suspension Response - Hindpaw Clutch0 (0%)N/A0 (0%)
20 Second Tail Suspension Response - Forepaw Clutch0 (0%)N/A0 (0%)
20 Second Tail Suspension Response - Other Responses0 (0%)N/A0 (0%)

NOTE: Bold is set for a threshold of 10%.

Functional observation battery comments:

  • KNS586N1-M-142(WT): Bald patches around snout.
  • KNS586N1-F-147(WT): Bald patches around snout.
  • KNS586N1-F-168(WT): Bald patches around snout.
  • KNS586N1-M-170(WT): Decreased exploration.
  • KNS586N1-M-178(WT): Bald patches around snout.
  • KNS586N1-M-130(HOM): Bald patches around snout.
  • KNS586N1-F-143(HOM): Sparse whiskers.
  • KNS586N1-M-153(HOM): Sparse whiskers.
  • KNS586N1-F-173(HOM): Bald patches around snout.
  • KNS586N1-M-184(HOM): Decreased exploration.

 

 

Reference

Irwin S. (1968) Comprehensive observational assessment: Ia. A systematic quantitative procedure for assessing the behavioral and physiologic state of the mouse, Psychopharmacologia, 13:222-257. 

Rogers DC, Peters J, Martin JE, Ball S, Nicholson SJ, Witherden AS, Hafezparast M, Latcham J, Robinson TL, Quilter CA, Fisher EM. (2001) SHIRPA, a protocol for behavioral assessment: validation for longitudinal study of neurological dysfunction in mice, Neurosci Lett, 306(1-2):89-92.