Machine vision analysis of behaviour Although C. elegans has powerful genetics and well-defined nervous system, many genes with critical roles in neurons have effects on behavior that to a casual observer appear very subtle or difficult to describe precisely. Therefore, we have been developing machine vision tools for quantitatively characterizing the behavioral patterns caused by mutations or pharmacological treatments in C. elegans. Such tools can be useful to identify unanticipated coordination between behavioural outputs that are characteristic of general behavioural states. They also make it possible to make quantitative models of behavioural patterns; for example, a model of egg-laying behaviour revealed important mechanistic insights into the roles of specific neurons and neuromodulators. More generally, these tools will make it possible to standardize behavioural assays and develop genome-wide databases of phenotypic information. |
||||
 |
||||
| Here is a movie acquired by the automated tracking system | ||||
| Here is a movie showing the tracker in use | ||||
| Here is a robot applying a mechanical stimulus to a plate on which a worm is crawling and being recorded. | ||||
Papers on machine vision: |
||||
Papers making use of machine vision: |
||||