TY - JOUR T1 - A novel microcontroller-based system for the wheel-running activity in mice JF - eneuro JO - eNeuro DO - 10.1523/ENEURO.0260-21.2021 SP - ENEURO.0260-21.2021 AU - Meina Zhu AU - Deepa Kamath Kasaragod AU - Kazuya Kikutani AU - Kei Taguchi AU - Hidenori Aizawa Y1 - 2021/09/03 UR - http://www.eneuro.org/content/early/2021/09/03/ENEURO.0260-21.2021.abstract N2 - Voluntary wheel-running activity is a way to assess rodents’ circadian rhythm and motivation for exercise. Deficits in these behaviors are implicated in the pathophysiology of sleep and psychiatric disorders. Limited space in animal facilities can hamper long-term monitoring of running wheel activity outside of the home cage. To address this issue, we provide a stand-alone solution to monitor the wheel-running activity of mice in their home cage. This system, named the Wheel-Running Activity acQuisition system (WRAQ), is based on a microcontroller driven by a lithium polymer battery. With the WRAQ, we can record the wheel-running activity and illumination data for at least 30 days. Applying the WRAQ to an endotoxemia mouse model robustly detected the altered wheel-running activity and its recovery. With wireless data transfer capability extension, the system also allows for online monitoring and reporting of the circadian time (CT). We used the online monitoring of wheel-running activity with this extended WRAQ system and observed a significant shift of the active period in the circadian rhythm following a temporal chemogenetic activation of the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)-subparaventricular zone (SPZ). Together, these findings indicate that the WRAQ system is a novel and cost effective solution for the analysis of wheel-running activity in mice.Significance StatementWheel-running activity is commonly used to assess voluntary activity along with the circadian rhythm in rodents. Long-term recording of the activity within additional animal facility space and associated costs could hamper its use depending on the scale of the study. Here we provide a cost effective and stand-alone solution to measure wheel-running activity in the home cage following manipulation of the central nervous system. We used a microcontroller for an internet of things solution to monitor behavioral and environmental data online. This novel approach may ultimately contribute to the real-time analysis of rodent behaviors during temporal genetic and pharmacological interventions. ER -