The Intellicage system provides a reproducible and standardized method to assess behavioral changes in cuprizone-induced demyelination mouse model

Background: Multiple sclerosis is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by myelin loss in the brain parenchyma. To mimic the disease, mice are fed a cuprizone-supplemented diet for 5 weeks, which leads to demyelination of white and grey matter regions, with the corpus callosum being the most susceptible to cuprizone intoxication. Although this model is highly exploited, classical behavioural tests showed inconsistent results. Objective: In our study, we aimed to use the automated system Intellicage to phenotype the behaviour of cuprizone-fed mice. Methods: Mice were continuously monitored during the 5 weeks of intoxication in their home cages, with minimal interference from the experimenter. Mice were assessed for spontaneous activity, fine movements, and impulsivity. Results: Consistently, cuprizone-fed mice showed reduced activity and impulsivity throughout the test period. These behavioral results were confirmed by repeating the battery of behavioral tests in a second cohort of cuprizone-fed mice. Our results suggest that the behavioural phenotyping of cuprizone-fed mice using Intellicage is reproducible and sensitive enough to detect changes normally missed in standard behavioral test batteries. Conclusion: Using a reproducible and standardized method to assess behavioral changes in mice intoxicated with cuprizone is crucial to better understand the disease as well as the functional outcome of treatments.

Automated summary

The study aimed to phenotype the behavior of cuprizone-fed mice using the automated system Intellicage. The results consistently showed reduced activity and impulsivity in cuprizone-fed mice. This suggests that behavioral phenotyping using Intellicage is reproducible and sensitive in detecting changes missed by standard behavioral tests.