Emma Burrows, PhD - Can Mice Help Us to Understand Complex Brain Conditions?

COEX 

Mapping high-risk candidate genes to biological pathways using animal model systems is a common approach to understand the aetiology underlying complex brain conditions, for discovery of new therapeutics or repurposing existing ones. Many brain conditions lack overt biomarkers and thus assessment of cognitive, behavioural and motor function is integral to diagnosis and in some cases to map progression or improvement following treatment. Functional correlates in preclinical animal models have been, to date, approximate and do not reflect methods used in clinical populations presenting an issue with translation. Dr Burrows will discuss recent advances in the use of technology for assessing behavioural changes in mice with a focus on direct translation to clinical studies.