The Mouse Behavioral Phenotyping Core, established by the Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities, provides testing services, training, and access to an extensive set of automated measurement systems and other resources for behavioral evaluation. The core can carry out multifaceted testing regimens to characterize mouse models of psychiatric and neurological disorders. Procedures are available to assess mice across a wide range of domains: motor and sensory ability, activity and exploration, anxiety-like behavior, sociability, cognitive function, and response to drug treatment.
Our core welcomes a new member, Dr. Kathryn Harper. Dr. Harper, an Assistant Research Professor of Psychiatry, has a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and recently completed a post-doctoral fellowship in the UNC Preclinical Neuropsychopharmacology Laboratory, headed by George Breese. Dr. Harper brings to our core new expertise in behavioral models of stress, immune dysfunction, and substance abuse.
The phenotyping approaches provided by the Mouse Behavioral Phenotyping Core can enhance mouse model studies in a variety of areas, including genetic, molecular, neurobiological, and drug discovery research.