Improved 3D tracking and automated classification of rodents¿ behavioral activity using depth-sensing cameras

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2020

Authors

Gerós, A (Author) Other; Magalhães, A (Author) Other; Paulo Aguiar (Author) FMUP

Journal

Title: Behavior Research Methods

Vol. 52

Pages: 2156-2167

ISSN: 1554-351X

Publisher: Springer Nature

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 3 Citations

Scopus - 5 Citations

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-00S-0DC

DOI: 10.3758/s13428-020-01381-9

Abstract (EN): Analysis of rodents¿ behavior/activity is of fundamental importance in many research fields. However, many behavioral experiments still rely on manual scoring, with obvious problems in reproducibility. Despite important advances in video-analysis systems and computational ethology, automated behavior quantification is still a challenge. The need for large training datasets, background stability requirements, and reduction to two-dimensional analysis (impairing full posture characterization), limit their use. Here we present a novel integrated solution for behavioral analysis of individual rats, combining video segmentation, tracking of body parts, and automated classification of behaviors, using machine learning and computer vision methods. Low-cost depth cameras (RGB-D) are used to enable three-dimensional tracking and classification in dark conditions and absence of color contrast. Our solution automatically tracks five anatomical landmarks in dynamic environments and recognizes seven distinct behaviors, within the accuracy range of human annotations. The developed free software was validated in experiments where behavioral differences between Wistar Kyoto and Wistar rats were automatically quantified. The results reveal the capability for effective automated phenotyping. An extended annotated RGB-D dataset is also made publicly available. The proposed solution is an easy-to-use tool, with low-cost setup and powerful 3D segmentation methods (in static/dynamic environments). The ability to work in dark conditions means that natural animal behavior is not affected by recording lights. Furthermore, automated classification is possible with only ~30 minutes of annotated videos. By creating conditions for high-throughput analysis and reproducible quantitative measurements of animal behavior experiments, we believe this contribution can greatly improve behavioral analysis research. © 2020, The Psychonomic Society, Inc.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 12