A quantitative evaluation of motility is crucial for studies employing experimental animals. Here, we describe the development of an in-cage motility monitoring method for new world monkeys using off-the-shelf components, and demonstrate its capability for long-term operation (e.g., a year). Based on this novel system, we characterized the motility of the common marmoset over different time scales (seconds, hours, days, and weeks). Monitoring of seven young animals belonging to two different age groups (sub-adult and young-adult) over a 231-day period revealed: 1) strictly diurnal activity (97.3% of movement during daytime), 2) short-cycle (~20 s) transition in activity, and 3) bimodal diurnal activity including a “siesta” break. Additionally, while the mean duration of short-cycle activity, net daily activity, and diurnal activity changed over the course of development, 24-h periodicity remained constant. Finally, the method allowed for detection of progressive motility deterioration in a transgenic marmoset. Motility measurement offers a convenient way to characterize developmental and pathological changes in animals, as well as an economical and labor-free means for long-term evaluation in a wide range of basic and translational studies.

中文翻译：

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长期笼内监测系统揭示圈养狨猴的运动特征


运动性的定量评估对于使用实验动物的研究至关重要。在这里，我们描述了使用现成组件开发新世界猴笼内运动监测方法，并展示了其长期运行（例如一年）的能力。基于这个新颖的系统，我们描述了普通狨猴在不同时间尺度（秒、小时、天和周）内的运动能力。在 231 天的时间里对属于两个不同年龄组（亚成体和幼体）的七只幼年动物进行的监测显示：1）严格的昼间活动（97.3％的运动在白天），2）短周期（~20 s) 活动的转变，以及 3) 双峰昼间活动，包括“午睡”休息。此外，虽然短周期活动、每日净活动和昼间活动的平均持续时间在发育过程中发生变化，但 24 小时周期性保持不变。最后，该方法允许检测转基因狨猴的运动性进行性恶化。运动测量提供了一种表征动物发育和病理变化的便捷方法，也为广泛的基础和转化研究中的长期评估提供了一种经济且无需人工的手段。