Aberrant social behavior is a core feature of many neuropsychiatric disorders, yet the study of complex social behavior in freely moving rodents is relatively infrequently incorporated into preclinical models. This likely contributes to limited translational impact. A major bottleneck for the adoption of socially complex, ethology-rich, preclinical procedures are the technical limitations for consistently annotating detailed behavioral repertoires of rodent social behavior. Manual annotation is subjective, prone to observer drift, and extremely time-intensive. Commercial approaches are expensive and inferior to manual annotation. Open-source alternatives often require significant investments in specialized hardware and significant computational and programming knowledge. By combining recent computational advances in convolutional neural networks and pose-estimation with further machine learning analysis, complex rodent social behavior is primed for inclusion under the umbrella of computational neuroethology.Here we present an open-source package with graphical interface and workflow (Simple Behavioral Analysis, SimBA) that uses pose-estimation to create supervised machine learning predictive classifiers of rodent social behavior, with millisecond resolution and accuracies that can out-perform human observers. SimBA does not require specialized video acquisition hardware nor extensive computational background. Standard descriptive statistical analysis, along with graphical region of interest annotation, are provided in addition to predictive classifier generation. To increase ease-of-use for behavioural neuroscientists, we designed SimBA with accessible menus for pre-processing videos, annotating behavioural training datasets, selecting advanced machine learning options, robust classifier validation functions and flexible visualizations tools. This allows for predictive classifier transparency, explainability and tunability prior to, and during, experimental use. We demonstrate that this approach is flexible and robust in both mice and rats by classifying social behaviors that are commonly central to the study of brain function and social motivation. Finally, we provide a library of poseestimation weights and behavioral predictive classifiers for resident-intruder behaviors in mice and rats. All code and data, together with detailed tutorials and documentation, are available on the SimBA GitHub repository.Graphical abstractSimBA graphical interface (GUI) for creating supervised machine learning classifiers of rodent social behavior.(a) Pre-process videos. SimBA supports common video pre-processing functions (e.g., cropping, clipping, sampling, format conversion, etc.) that can be performed either on single videos, or as a batch.(b) Managing poseestimation data and creating classification projects. Pose-estimation tracking projects in DeepLabCut and DeepPoseKit can be either imported or created and managed within the SimBA graphical user interface, and the tracking results are imported into SimBA classification projects.SimBA also supports userdrawn region-of-interests (ROIs) for descriptive statistics of animal movements, or as features in machine learning classification projects.(c) Create classifiers, perform classifications, and analyze classification data. SimBA has graphical tools for correcting poseestimation tracking inaccuracies when multiple subjects are within a single frame, annotating behavioral events from videos, and optimizing machine learning hyperparameters and discrimination thresholds. A number of validation checkpoints and logs are included for increased classifier explainability and tunability prior to, and during, experimental use. Both detailed and summary data are provided at the end of classifier analysis. SimBA accepts behavioral annotations generated elsewhere (such as through JWatcher) that can be imported into SimBA classification projects.(d) Visualize classification results. SimBA has several options for visualizing machine learning classifications, animal movements and ROI data, and analyzing the durations and frequencies of classified behaviors.See the SimBA GitHub repository for a comprehensive documentation and user tutorials.

No abstract

Given the potential of afterschool programs to support youth in urban, low-income communities, we examined the role of afterschool classroom ecology in the academic outcomes of Latino and African American youth with and without social-behavioral risk. Using multireporter methods and multilevel analysis, we find that positive classroom ecology (i.e., social dynamics, responsive instruction, and organized management) positively predicted academic skills and self-concept across 1 year. For academic skills, the association was magnified for students with social-behavioral difficulties; for academic self-concept, the association was magnified for students without social-behavioral difficulties. No significant relation was found between fall classroom ecology and spring academic engagement; yet in classrooms with more positive ecology, youth with initial social-behavioral risk were more academically engaged. Results suggest the need to consider the role of afterschool classrooms and instructors in promoting supportive interactions and advancing academic outcomes for youth facing distal and proximal risk at the transition to adolescence.

This study examines the associations among cross-linguistic social ties, individual-level social network and demographic characteristics, and academic and social-emotional outcomes in a sample of third to eighth grade Latine and Black youth attending urban afterschool programs. Guided by social capital and social learning perspectives, this study is one of the first to explore the associations of social ties among Spanish-speaking bilingual youth and native Englishspeakers in the afterschool setting. We found that youth who have more ties in the classroom social network have more cross-linguistic connections than would be expected given the afterschool classroom composition. Moreover, having more cross-linguistic ties at the start of the year was associated with higher academic and social self-concept in the spring, adjusting for baseline skills and other covariates. These findings suggest that cross-linguistic ties in the afterschool setting may contribute to positive social and developmental outcomes in late childhood and early adolescence.

No abstract