Detection of mouse cough based on sound monitoring and respiratory airflow waveforms

PLoS One. 2013;8(3):e59263. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0059263. Epub 2013 Mar 21.

Abstract

Detection for cough in mice has never yielded clearly audible sounds, so there is still a great deal of debates as to whether mice can cough in response to tussive stimuli. Here we introduce an approach for detection of mouse cough based on sound monitoring and airflow signals. 40 Female BALB/c mice were pretreated with normal saline, codeine, capasazepine or desensitized with capsaicin. Single mouse was put in a plethysmograph, exposed to aerosolized 100 µmol/L capsaicin for 3 min, followed by continuous observation for 3 min. Airflow signals of total 6 min were recorded and analyzed to detect coughs. Simultaneously, mouse cough sounds were sensed by a mini-microphone, monitored manually by an operator. When manual and automatic detection coincided, the cough was positively identified. Sound and sound waveforms were also recorded and filtered for further analysis. Body movements were observed by operator. Manual versus automated counts were compared. Seven types of airflow signals were identified by integrating manual and automated monitoring. Observation of mouse movements and analysis of sound waveforms alone did not produce meaningful data. Mouse cough numbers decreased significantly after all above drugs treatment. The Bland-Altman and consistency analysis between automatic and manual counts was 0.968 and 0.956. The study suggests that the mouse is able to present with cough, which could be detected by sound monitoring and respiratory airflow waveform changes.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Capsaicin / analogs & derivatives
  • Capsaicin / pharmacology
  • Codeine / pharmacology
  • Cough / diagnosis*
  • Cough / physiopathology
  • Cough / prevention & control
  • Female
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred BALB C
  • Plethysmography, Whole Body / instrumentation*
  • Plethysmography, Whole Body / methods
  • Pulmonary Ventilation / drug effects
  • Pulmonary Ventilation / physiology*
  • Respiratory Sounds / diagnosis*
  • Sodium Chloride / pharmacology

Substances

  • Sodium Chloride
  • capsazepine
  • Capsaicin
  • Codeine

Grants and funding

This study was supported by a grant of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81100009 and No.30670934) (http://www.nsfc.gov.cn/Portal0/default152.htm).The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.