Knowledge Base

Settings for Experiments

Settings for experiments set to Rat or Mouse Behavior Recognition include this additional condition.

Note: To visualize or analyze the portions of the tracks scored as Unknown, select Unknown in the behavior property window in the Analysis profile.

Performance

When Behavior Recognition is selected and you track live, use maximally one arena. To improve performance and avoid samples being discarded because of the use of too much processor capacity, follow these rules:

• As a detection method, use one of the Subtraction methods, not Differencing.
• For the nose-tail tracking, try first Rodents / Default, not Rodents / For Occlusions. Use the latter only if the first does not give good results.

Accuracy

• Rat Behavior Recognition was trained on Sprague Dawley rats and tested on various strains by DeltaPhenomics and Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands. The details of this validation are in the publication listed below.
• Mouse Behavior Recognition was trained on C57Bl6 mice, and tested on various models and strains including BalbC, CD1 (white), and TgAD models. The module has been beta tested by four experienced animal behavior specialists at different labs (two in USA, two in Europe).

The average recall rate, that is, the fraction of ground truth manually scored behaviors that EthoVision XT recognizes correctly, is 0.70.

van Dam, E., J.E. van der Harst, C.J.F. ter Braak, R.A.J. Tegelenbosch, B.M. Spruijt, L.P.J.J. Noldus (2013). An automated system for the recognition of various specific rat behaviours. Journal of Neuroscience Methods 218 (2), 214–224. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jneumeth.2013.05.012

See Also

• Trial Control with Behavior Recognition
• Behavior Recognition in the Analysis Profile

Live Mouse Tracker: Workflow

Background Information

• Live Mouse Tracker (https://livemousetracker.org) is a system for prolonged monitoring of mice housed in small groups and in enriched environment.
• Tracking and individual recognition is based on a Kinect depth camera and RFID antennas and readers.
• You can track up to four subjects (tested).
• For the assembling instructions, see https://livemousetracker.org.
• EthoVision XT supports data of Live Mouse Tracker version 1.0.3 (October 4, 2022).

Prerequisites

• You must have the Social Interaction add-on module in your EthoVision XT license. See Upgrade EthoVision XT.

Procedure

1. Assemble the Live Mouse Tracker setup.
2. Connect all the hardware to the PC.
3. Collect the data with Live Mouse Tracker.
4. In EthoVision XT, create an experiment in Live Mouse Tracker mode. Choose File > New Experiment. Select the check box Live Mouse Tracker Experiment.
5. Import Live Mouse Tracker data. For this you need the Live Mouse Tracker databases and the video files (optional).
6. In the Analysis profile, choose the dependent variables. See Live Mouse Tracker.
7. Visualize and analyze the data.

Notes

• Live Mouse Tracker works with 3D coordinates (x, y, z). While analysis is mostly based on 2D (x, y) coordinates, some dependent variables are also based on the z-coordinates, for example Rear. See Dependent Variables for Live Mouse Tracker.
• In the Live Mouse Tracker database, the x and y coordinates are in pixels, while z is in mm. However, EthoVision XT converts pixel coordinates to distance units specified in the Experiment Settings.
• In Live Mouse Tracker experiments you can also analyze data using the well-known analysis variables like Velocity and In Zone. However, the following variables will not be available in your Analysis profile because they cannot be calculated with Live Mouse Tracker data:
  • Head direction and Head Directed to Zone.
  • Turn angle when it is based on head direction.
  • Activity and Activity State.
  • Body elongation and Body Elongation State.
  • Mobility and Mobility State.
  • Body contact.
  • Behavior Recognition (all behaviors).

Live Mouse Tracker: Create an Experiment

Aim

To create an EthoVision XT experiment that is compatible with the Live Mouse Tracker behavioral data acquisition system.

Background Information

An EthoVision XT experiment set to Live Mouse Tracker is a modified version of a standard, multi-subject, multi-body point experiment, with predefined, permanent settings. The main characteristics are:

• In the Experiment Settings, the Video Source is Video File, the Number of Arenas is 1, the Number of Subjects is 4, and under Tracked Features the option Tracker Add-In is selected. We recommend not changing those settings. You can, however, change the settings under Units.
• In the Arena Settings, the arena is already calibrated using the scaling factor of Live Mouse Tracker. If you like, you can add zones for analysis beyond the standard readouts of Live Mouse Tracker.
• Trial Control Settings, Detection Settings, Acquisition, and Track Editor have been removed because they are not relevant in Live Mouse Tracker.
• All analysis functionalities of EthoVision XT are kept. So you can, for example, analyze the tracks obtained with Live Mouse Tracker combined with zones using a Data profile, or combine Live Mouse Tracker readouts with the EthoVision XT analysis variables.

For more information about the Live Mouse Tracker acquisition system, see https://livemousetracker.org.

Prerequisites

• You have collected data using the Live Mouse Tracker acquisition system.
• You must have the Social Interaction add-on module in your EthoVision XT license. See Upgrade EthoVision XT.

Procedure

1. Choose File > New.
2. Enter a name for the experiment.
3. Select the Live Mouse Tracker Experiment.
4. Click OK.
5. Next: Import Live Mouse Tracker data.

Notes

• You may notice that in all Live Mouse Tracker experiments, when opening the Experiment Settings under Tracked Features, the option Tracker Add-In is selected. This is the correct selection in the experiments made for Live Mouse Tracker. Please leave it as it is.

See Also

• Live Mouse Tracker: Workflow