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iMOSS: an integrated open-source tail suspension test platform for high-resolution immobility scoring and
Zengyou Ye1, Xia Min1, Sarah T Johnson1
1Behavioral Neuroscience Research Branch, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, United States.
Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience
|May 25, 2026
Summary
The tail suspension test (TST) now has improved open-source tools, iMOSS-MV and iMOSS-AS, for precise rodent behavior analysis. These systems accurately quantify immobility and mobility, aiding antidepressant drug screening and neural data integration.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Behavioral Science
- Pharmacology
Background:
- The tail suspension test (TST) is a standard method for assessing rodent stress-coping behaviors, with immobility interpreted as behavioral despair.
- Traditional TST scoring is time-consuming and imprecise, while current automated systems lack accuracy and integration capabilities with neural recordings.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate novel, open-source tools for high-resolution quantification of rodent mobility and immobility during the TST.
- To create systems that overcome the limitations of manual scoring and existing automated methods, enabling precise behavioral analysis and neural data integration.
Main Methods:
- Developed iMOSS-MV, a video-based software for precise frame-by-frame manual scoring of immobility/mobility.
- Developed iMOSS-AS, a sensor-based automated system utilizing machine learning for immobility/mobility detection.
- Validated both systems against manual scoring, other automated tools, and assessed their sensitivity to imipramine treatment and integration with fiber photometry neural recordings.
Main Results:
- The automated iMOSS-AS system demonstrated high concordance with the manual iMOSS-MV system and outperformed other available tools.
- Both iMOSS tools accurately detected behavioral changes induced by imipramine, confirming their sensitivity to pharmacological manipulation.
- iMOSS systems successfully integrated with neural data, allowing simultaneous analysis of behavioral and medial septal calcium activity.
Conclusions:
- iMOSS-MV and iMOSS-AS provide efficient, user-friendly, and bias-minimized platforms for high-throughput behavioral analysis in rodents.
- These tools facilitate seamless integration of behavioral and neural data, advancing systems neuroscience research.
- The developed systems offer a scalable and cost-effective solution for precise assessment of stress-coping behaviors and antidepressant efficacy.
