Project Objectives
- Develop refined, automated IntelliCage protocols for anhedonia, motivation and attention.
- Validate behavioural readouts in socially housed mice (n=10 per sex, per test).
- Reduce stress through voluntary home‑cage‑based testing.
- Disseminate methods via training, workshops and online materials.
- Promote IntelliCage testing as a refined alternative to classical testing settings.
How This Advances 3Rs Implementation
- Establishes validated IntelliCage protocols to replace stressful classical methods.
- Delivers reproducible datasets, requiring fewer animals.
- Promotes ethical, welfare‑optimised behavioural testing practices.
- Enables cross‑institutional adoption through training and dissemination.
- Applicable across other disciplines, such as neuroscience, immunology, psychiatry and metabolic research.
Background
Many behavioural tests require mice to be removed from their home‑cage, placed in isolation, and trained for weeks in conditioning boxes, all of which are known to induce stress and reduce data validity. A lack of refined, low‑stress alternatives has limited progress toward more ethical behavioural neuroscience.
The IntelliCage system addresses this challenge by enabling automated, voluntary testing within the home‑cage while maintaining natural social housing. This project refined and validated IntelliCage‑based protocols for assessing anhedonia, motivation and attention in mice, contributing to better welfare and more robust scientific outcomes.
