mouseTube published in video

The mouseTube database launched in February 2015 by Nicolas Torquet1 (IBPS) and Élodie Ey2 (Pasteur Institute), has recently published results in an uncommon format: a video film! These results were3 indeed released in the Journal of Visualized Experiments (JoVe), which publishes video-only articles. This format provides significant benefits: featured protocols are easier to understand and reproduce, especially for complex manipulations.

mouseTube is a participative database on which mice ultrasonic vocalizations4 are recorded and classified. Animal models, protocols and equipment used are also presented, so that experimental conditions are well known5.

In the study published by JoVe, the researchers investigate the ultrasonic vocalizations emitted by male and female mice when engaged in different forms of interactions with other mice. Wild type and mice defective for the Shank2 gene, associated to the autistic spectrum disorder. If no difference in social interactions were observed among young wild type and Shank2 mutated mice, adult Shank2 -/- male and female emitted shorter and unstructured vocalizations than wild-type subjects when associated with other adult estrus female mice. Vocalizations also had lower frequencies for Shank mutated mice. These results should help understand the role of the Shank2 gene in the behavior of mice affected of an autistic disorder.

So far, mouseTube counts 70 registered members across the world and 385 files of vocalizations from two different labs: the Human Genetics and Cognitive Functions team (Pasteur Institute) and the Department of Neurobiology at the Duke University Medical Center (USA). These files are available online to the whole scientific community. In the long run, the objective is to constitute a database which will associate mice behavior, vocalizations characteristics and genotype. « In the future, we hope to add an acoustic analyzer software on the website. », explains Nicolas Torquet, who believes that mouseTube will rapidly develop and prove to be a useful tool to all scientists interested in mice behavioral studies.

1. Team Neurophysiology and Behavior (UMR 8246)

2. UMR 3571, Pasteur Institute.

3. Recording Mouse Ultrasonic Vocalizations to Evaluate Social Communication

4. Presented in the IBPS news n°2 issue.

5. Also recently published in F1000 (coming soon).