Phenotyping Center
Biocenter Kuopio, University of Eastern Finland
About Us
Phenotyping Center provides research services in neurophenotyping in mice and rats, and cardiovascular phenotyping on mice, rats, rabbits and minipigs. Services include behavioral, electrophysiological, metabolic and histopathological analyses as well as in vivo imaging. Research can be done on a special disease model organism provided by the client or on one of the special disease models provided by BCK groups. The primary type of service is a custom-designed battery of tests to answer specific questions about the phenotype of a disease model organism. Experts at the Center provide help in experimental planning. Pricing is based on a negotiated research service agreement in accordance with the regulations at the University of Eastern Finland.Services offered
A. Behavioral testing
- A1 Motor tests
- Automated monitoring of spontaneous activity
- Rotarod
- Beam walking
- Catwalk
- Grid hanging
- Cylinder test
- Turning preference
- Sensorimotor reflexes
- A2 Sensory tests
- Pain (hotplate, tail flick)
- Tactile sensitivity (von Frey Hairs)
- Hearing (acoustic startle + prepulse inhibition)
- Vision (visual discrimination)
- Olfaction (olfactory threshold, discrimination)
- A3 Emotion tests
- Elevated plusmaze
- Light-dark boxv
- Open field
- Marble burying
- CO2 panic test
- Forced swimming test
- Tail suspension test
- Sucrose preference
- Fear conditioning
- A4 Tests for addiction
- Ethanol preference
- Ethanol tolerance
- Conditioned place preference
- Conditioned taste preference
- A5 Social behavior
- Social interaction
- Sociability
- Territorial aggression
- A6 Cognitive tests
- Short-term memory (spontaneous alternation in Tor Y-mazes; rewarded delayed alternation in T-maze or Igloo test; working memory test in 8-arm radial maze, novel object recognition)
- Long-term memory (Morris swim task ‘water maze’; position preference in the T-maze; long-term memory version of the 8-arm radial maze; fear conditioning; novel object recognition; odor discrimination)
- Cognitive flexibility (position reversal in the T-maze; new platform position in Morris swim task)
- Planning (nest building)
B. Electrophysiology
- B1 Video-EEG in freely moving mice/rats
- Cortical 24/7 up to two weeks
- Multichannel (up to 15 including EMG) up to 6 h
- B2 Evoked potentials in awake mice/rats
- Visual (flash, pattern)
- Auditory (click, natural sounds)
- Somatosensory (electric stim in anesthesia, air puff in awake)
- B3 In vivo LTP/LTD (anesthesia and awake)
C. Induced models
- C1 Stereotactic brain microinjections for delivery of:
- Viral vectors
- Drugs
- Neurotoxins for targeted lesion
D. Metabolic tests
- D1 O2, CO2, activity, food/water intake monitoring
- D2 Assessment of glucose metabolism
- Glucose tolerance test
- Insulin tolerance test
E. In vivo brain imaging (in collaboration with Biological Imaging Core Facility at BCK)
- Structural MRI (incl. DTI tractography)
- Functional MRI
- Micro-PET
F. CARDIAC ULTRASOUND
- Vevo 2100 high-frequency and high-resolution ultrasound system
- Basics of Echocardiography and Doppler measurements well covered
- Ultrasound imaging of vascular diseases also possible (e.g. abdominal aortic aneurysm)
- Targeted delivery of e.g. gene therapy to the heart muscle under guidance of ultrasound visualization
G. histopathology
- Special immohistochemical stainings
- Conventional and fluorescence microscopy
- Confocal microscopy (in collaboration with Cellular Imaging Core Facility at BCK)
- Histological slide scanning (in collaboration with Biobank at Kuopio University Hospital)
- Quantitative image analysis
Further information
Prof. Heikki Tanila
A. I. Virtanen Institute University of Eastern Finland
Neulaniementie 2, 70210 Kuopio FINLAND
email: heikki.tanila (at) uef.fi
phone: +358-40-3552084