Mouse BIRN Sample Queries
The data integration team and the database developers need to have some idea of the types of questions scientists are likely to ask of the multi-resolution data to be contained in the Mouse BIRN in order to design the data integration system. Below are some examples of the types of queries one could ask.
- Are there any structural changes detectable in MRI's in brain regions which show a decrease in density in neurons/dendritic spines?
- When do changes in MRI vs. cell counts become obvious during the course of the disease?
- Find examples of (non-normal) brains where both the motor cortex and one of its major targets differ significantly in size or shape from controls.
- Do animals which show defects in tests of spatial memory have significant differences in the size or shape of the hippocampal formation during development compared to controls? Q4/X=any brain region.
- Do decreases in #'s of synapses in a given brain region correlate (statistically) with volume changes in MRI?
- Does chronic inflammation of the optic nerve cause decreases in the size and/or # of axons?
- Are there any brains which show a deviation in axonal trajectory in the fornix during development?
- Are brain regions expressing high #'s of D2 receptors affected more by chronic increases in dopamine compared to those expressing predominately D1 receptors?
- Find MRI's of animals with movement disorders:
- which structures are most likely to be increased/decreased in size?
- which systems are they associated with?
- in these: which cells are affected?
- for those: plot distribution in cortex?
- give me subsets of these brains which also show a change in synapse # compared to age-matched controls
- Do increases in #'s of glial cells (astrocytes) in a given brain region correlate with volume changes in MRI? If we were to put behavioral data from different mouse strains in the database too, we can easily come up with several permutations of these basic questions, such as the next query...
- Are there any volume changes detectable in MRI's in animals with deficit in e.g. prepulse inhibition of startle (or, with learning deficit, or, with locomotor hyperactivity, or, increased anxiety-related behavior etc. etc.).