Mouse Behavioral Phenotyping Core

Aerial view of Charleston

The MUSC Mouse Behavioral Phenotyping Core provides both MUSC investigators and other external investigators the equipment, expertise, service and training for testing a range of common mouse behaviors. The core provides a range of behavior testing services to study neurological disorders, such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, intellectual disability, anxiety/depression, and Alzheimer’s Disease. The core performs behavioral testing, data analysis, and data interpretation to interested investigators on a fee-for-service basis. In addition, the core offers personnel training for investigator to have access to the behavior equipment if they prefer to test the mice themselves. Overall, the core provides necessary equipment and expertise to correlate behavioral outcomes of treatments/genetic modifications to cellular/molecular changes of the variants that are observed in their independent labs.

If you have used Mouse Behavioral Phenotyping Core services, please share your feedback using the following forms: 

Feedback Form - MUSC email access

Feedback Form - non-MUSC email access

Akiki RM, Cornbrooks RG, Magami K, Greige A, Snyder KK, Wood DJ, Herrington MC, Mace P, Blidy K, Koike N, Berto S, Cowan CW, Taniguchi M. A long noncoding eRNA forms R-loops to shape emotional experience-induced behavioral adaptation. Science. 2024 Dec 13;386(6727):1282-1289. doi: 10.1126/science.adp1562. Epub 2024 Dec 12. PMID: 39666799; PMCID: PMC12071198.

Wood DJ, Huebschman JL, Martinez D, Tsvetkov E, Snyder K, Tjhia R, Kumar J, Hughes BW, Taniguchi M, Smith LN, Cowan CW, Penrod RD. The activity-regulated cytoskeleton-associated protein (Arc) functions in a cell type- and sex-specific manner in the adult nucleus accumbens to regulate non-contingent cocaine behaviors. Genes Brain Behav. 2024 Aug;23(4):e12910. doi: 10.1111/gbb.12910. PMID: 39164860; PMCID: PMC11335578.

Hughes BW, Huebschman JL, Tsvetkov E, Siemsen BM, Snyder KK, Akiki RM, Wood DJ, Penrod RD, Scofield MD, Berto S, Taniguchi M, Cowan CW. NPAS4 supports cocaine-conditioned cues in rodents by controlling the cell type-specific activation balance in the nucleus accumbens. Nat Commun. 2024 Aug 8;15(1):5971. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-50099-1. PMID: 39117647; PMCID: PMC11310321.

Borucki DM, Rohrer B, Tomlinson S. Complement propagates visual system pathology following traumatic brain injury. J Neuroinflammation. 2024 Apr 17;21(1):98. doi: 10.1186/s12974-024-03098-4. PMID: 38632569; PMCID: PMC11022420.

Cho JY, Rumschlag JA, Tsvetkov E, Proper DS, Lang H, Berto S, Assali A, Cowan CW. MEF2C Hypofunction in GABAergic Cells Alters Sociability and Prefrontal Cortex Inhibitory Synaptic Transmission in a Sex-Dependent Manner. Biol Psychiatry Glob Open Sci. 2024 Jan 16;4(2):100289. doi: 10.1016/j.bpsgos.2024.100289. PMID: 38390348; PMCID: PMC10881314.