Measurement of motor disability in MPTP-treated macaques using a telemetry system for estimating circadian motor activity

Circadian and sleep disorders in Parkinson's disease

“…Similar to patients with PD, a narcolepsy-like phenotype occurs in MPTP-induced parkinsonism in non-human primates (Daley et al 1999). MPTP-induced parkinsonism is associated with not only sleep disruption but also alterations in other circadian rhythms in physiology and behavior, suggesting a general disturbance of the circadian system (Almirall et al 2001, Barcia et al 2003, Barcia et al 2004). Studies in rodents indicate a change in sleep efficiency and architecture (specifically, reductions in REM sleep) (Laloux et al 2008, Lima et al 2007, Monaca et al 2004).…”

Quantitative evaluation of MPTP-treated nonhuman parkinsonian primates in the HALLWAY task

“…Other systems have been used to measure locomotor activity in parkinsonian nonhuman primates (Barcia et al, 2004;Gerber et al, 2000;Horii et al, 2002;Robinson et al, 1993), demonstrating the usefulness of the telemetry system for evaluating the circadian activity under physiological conditions. Previous experiments performed in macaques used similar systems to measure temperature and circadian activity (Aureli et al, 1999;Mehlman et al, 2000;Chassain et al, 2001).…”

The Webcam system: a simple, automated, computer-based video system for quantitative measurement of movement in nonhuman primates

“…The earliest and most widely utilized of these systems are similar to the IRAM, which makes use of infrared light beams traversing specific areas of the cage that count activity when the animal interrupts the beams (Irwin et al, 1990;Pearce et al, 1995;Smith et al, 1993). A variation of this approach uses an implanted radio transmitter and a telemetry monitoring system to monitor animal movements (Barcia et al, 2004). Another system utilizes small accelerometers (PAMs) that detect motor activity based on the acceleration of the animal (Blanchet et al, 1997;Emborg et al, 1998), rather than its position in space.…”

“…One approach utilizes computerized analyses of video images to measure motor activity. Video systems of this sort have been shown to demonstrate changes in global locomotor activity in nonhuman primates after MPTP and levodopa treatment (Barcia et al, 2004;Chassain et al, 2001;Moussaoui et al, 2000). These monitoring systems have provided useful measurements, but have not been reported as having undergone full validation for demonstrating their use as a quantitative measure.…”