Development of an IntelliCage-based cognitive bias test for mice.

Area of Science:

• Animal behavior and welfare science
• Neuroscience and cognitive science

Background:

• Cognitive bias tests assess animal emotional states and welfare.
• Traditional tests are time-consuming and require experimenter presence.
• Assessing welfare in group-housed laboratory animals presents challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an automated, home-cage-based cognitive bias test for group-housed mice.
• To enable individual welfare assessment in a familiar environment.
• To investigate mouse responses to environmental changes.

Main Methods:

• An automated cognitive bias test using the IntelliCage system was developed.
• A gating system connected the test-cage to the home-cage for self-scheduled participation.
• Group-housed female C57BL/6J mice were tested.
• Environmental enrichment was removed, and mice were restrained.

Main Results:

• The automated test successfully measured cognitive bias in group-housed mice.
• Mice demonstrated high motivation to participate in the test.
• Unexpectedly, mice displayed an optimistic cognitive bias following enrichment removal and restraint.

Conclusions:

• The automated home-cage test provides individual welfare data from group-housed mice.
• Optimistic bias under adverse conditions may represent an active coping strategy involving risk-taking.