Trends in Neurosciences
OpinionPhenomics: fiction or the future?
Section snippets
Searching under the torchlight
Although it is generally appreciated that the ultimate output of the brain is behavior, and that behavioral analysis has the potential to reveal functional alterations of any circuit or any neurobiological process of the brain [4], serious practical issues limit the utility of behavioral studies. Most importantly, behavioral tests are time consuming and, thus, investigators often prefer to focus on particular aspects of behavior using a limited number of tests. The danger of this approach is
Speed versus quality
From the above it is clear that a test battery represents a significant challenge. Optimization of a battery is not trivial. The primary problem is a practical one: behavioral analysis is space- and time-intensive. How can one collect all the pieces of information with which to properly evaluate which aspects of brain function are affected by a genetic manipulation within a reasonable amount of time? Would speed be increased at the expense of quality? Steps have been taken to address this
Bioinformatics to the rescue
The amount of data one gathers using such devices can be staggering. Bioinformatics tools, multivariate statistical methods and pattern analysis can be required to extract information from these complex behavioral experiments properly and concisely. Furthermore, phenotyping is not the exclusive domain of behavioral science. For example, in vivo multi-electrode recordings from individual neurons have already shown great promise [26]. The fact that behavioral and electrophysiological
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Hans-Peter Lipp (Zurich, Switzerland), Kimberley Gannon, Benjamin Adams and Thomas Fitch (Indianapolis, USA) for their helpful comments on the manuscript.
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