We request construction/provision of a dedicated small animal phenotyping system for continuous assessment (24/7) of animal behaviour, food intake, calirometry and activity for a minimum of 16 individually housed mice. Minimum requirements for this system are:
1) Integrated XYZ activity and IR camera for monitoring animal movement 2) Automated monitoring of Feeding/Drinking/Body Mass 3) Integrated Running Wheel for voluntary exercise (wheel must be motorized and integrated with analytical software for control of time & distance, and exercise interventions) 4) Monitors for sleep detection 5) Capabilities for urine & feces collection 6) Automated food access control (for pair feeding experiments) 7) Detailed environmental control to allow maintenance of humidity, temperature and light cycle. These units (x2) must house at least 8 automated cages. Second to this, we require an additional acclamation chamber. 8) Calorimetry 9) Telemetry (temp./heart rate/BP/etc.). 10) Operant conditioning acc. to Skinner. 11) System must be integrated into dedicated racks with optimized cable configuration to allow easy access.
