Development of an Open Face Home Cage Running Wheel for Testing Activity-Based Anorexia and Other Applications

Running wheels for mice residing in the home cage are useful for the continuous measurement of locomotor activity for studies testing exercise interventions or exercise-induced effects on brain and metabolism. Here, we have developed an open source, printable, open-faced running wheel that is automated to collect locomotor information such as distance traveled, wheel direction, and velocity that can be binned into epochs over 24 h or multiple days. This system allows for remote data collection to avoid human interference in mouse behavioral experiments. We tested this system in an activity-based anorexia procedure. Using these wheels, we replicate previous findings that food restriction augments wheel-running activity.

Automated summary

Running wheels for mice in the home cage are useful for studying the effects of exercise on the brain and metabolism. We have developed an automated open-source running wheel system that allows for remote data collection and analysis of locomotor activity in mice.