Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Ni Feng
Brett Beaman
Brett Beaman is a rising senior from Locust Valley, NY. He attended The Dalton School and Friends Academy. Brett is double-majoring in Biology and Science and Technology Studies (STS) with a minor in Chemistry. On campus, he rows for the Wesleyan Men’s Crew team and researches muscle physiology in the Feng Lab. Passionate about animal health, he plans to attend veterinary school and continue rowing or coaching after graduation.
Abstract: Thirteen-lined ground squirrels (13LGS) survive winter by entering hibernation, a state where their body temperature, metabolism, and activity drop for days at a time. These periods of torpor are interrupted by short interbout arousals (IBAs), when they briefly return to normal body temperature. While it’s known that 13LGS maintain muscle mass throughout hibernation, much less is understood about whether they also maintain motor coordination. To begin exploring this, we worked on adapting the Rota-Rod, a tool typically used to test coordination in laboratory mice and rats. The Rota-Rod consists of a rotating cylinder that animals walk on, and the time it takes for them to fall off is recorded. The rotation speed can be fixed or gradually increased to test motor coordination under different levels of challenge. Working with six squirrels over eight weeks, we developed a training protocol with four progressive checkpoints. Along the way, we ran into several issues, likely due to our squirrels being only a few generations from a wild stock. Squirrels often jumped off, turned around mid-trial, or refused to walk at all. In response, we made adjustments such as switching to side-loading, adding a clear cover to prevent escapes, and installing barriers to guide forward movement. Some squirrels improved over time, but performance was inconsistent. Due to the squirrels’ erratic behaviors, we were unable to obtain consistent motor performance data. However, the changes we made to the Rota-Rod apparatus helped improve the training process and helped identify future improvements. The goal going forward is to refine the setup and apply it to squirrels during IBAs to better understand how motor coordination is maintained after long periods of disuse throughout hibernation.
Poster-Optimizing-Training-Protocols-for-Testing-Motor-Coordination-in-a-Mammalian-Hibernator-Brett-David-Beaman