Most rodent behavior analysis is accomplished through short duration tests (i.e., on the order of minutes) in mazes or other apparatuses. The results are meaningful, but they come with a caveat: rodent behavior is highly variable and easily influenced by external factors, like time of day or environment. To overcome these limitations, experts have suggested that long-term analysis (i.e., hours, days, or weeks) of home cage behavior should supplement traditional behavioral testing methods.

Unfortunately, running long-term home cage experiments is extremely expensive when there is a high volume of subjects. Specialized home cages or video cameras can cost thousands of dollars, which is a huge constraint on throughput for many labs. BehaviorCloud is making long-term video-based behavioral analysis more affordable by taking advantage of cloud data streaming and storage. By recording video data with an inexpensive smartphone and streaming the data over WiFi to their secure, web-based account, a lab can perform high-throughput video recording and analysis without investing too many precious grant dollars.

So how does it work? First, a lab purchases a mobile device (like an iPod, iPhone, or Android device) for each cage they want to record, along with an inexpensive clip-on wide angle lens for smartphones. The researcher mounts a device on each cage for top and/or side view recording, depending on preference. Then recording and streaming is initiated using the BehaviorCloud Camera app (available from iTunes or the Play Store). The researcher controls recording remotely via their BehaviorCloud account and data is streamed in real-time, so they can set the recording duration, start and stop recording as desired, or even remotely monitor their subjects. All of this video data is stored securely in the researcher’s web account to use later for manual observation or automated scoring of activity.

But what happens at night? Often experiments require recording in the dark, which is the most active time of day for nocturnal rodents. That’s no problem with BehaviorCloud. Many Android devices support infrared light detection and they will record clear video with just an external infrared light source. That means a researcher can record in the dark without worrying about circadian rhythm disruption caused by light exposure. In addition, for recording in red light both iOS and Android devices perform well in our experience, but feel free to check with us for device recommendations or read the specifications for your particular device.

If you’re thinking of supplementing your traditional behavioral testing with long-term home cage analysis or if you’re trying to measure a subtle behavioral effect, give home cage video monitoring a try with BehaviorCloud. As always, we’re here to help you get set up and answer any questions you might have. Hope this post was helpful and stay tuned for more!