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Scientists Create Free Software That Could Save Research Labs Thousands of Dollars

For decades, scientists studying animal behavior have relied on expensive commercial software to track how laboratory mice move, explore, and respond to different conditions. These tools are widely used in neuroscience, psychology, and medical research, but their high cost often places them beyond the reach of smaller laboratories and research institutions.

Now, a team led by Samson has developed an innovative solution called MouseMove—a free, open-source software platform that can accurately analyze mouse movement and behavior without requiring costly equipment or specialized training. The software offers researchers a powerful alternative to commercial systems and could make advanced behavioral research more accessible around the world.

Understanding the Open Field Test

One of the most common methods used to study animal behavior is known as the Open Field (OF) Test. Originally developed in 1932, this test remains one of the most important tools for assessing locomotion, exploration, anxiety-related behavior, and neurological function in rodents.

The test is simple. A mouse is placed in an unfamiliar open arena, and researchers observe how it moves and explores its surroundings. Because rodents naturally investigate new environments, their movement patterns can reveal valuable information about brain function, stress levels, memory, and physical abilities.

Over the years, the Open Field Test has been used to investigate a wide variety of scientific questions, including:

  • Brain injuries and stroke recovery

  • Anxiety and stress disorders

  • Effects of medications and drugs

  • Aging-related changes

  • Genetic influences on behavior

  • Sleep and circadian rhythms

  • Environmental impacts on health

The popularity of the test comes from its simplicity, reliability, and ability to provide meaningful behavioral data.

The Problem with Existing Systems

Although the Open Field Test itself is relatively straightforward, analyzing the resulting movement data often requires sophisticated software.

Most laboratories currently depend on commercial systems such as ANY-maze, EthoVision XT, TopScan, and Opto-Varimex. These platforms use overhead cameras or laser-based tracking systems to monitor animal movement and generate detailed behavioral reports.

While highly capable, these systems have several drawbacks:

  • High purchase and maintenance costs

  • Proprietary software with limited transparency

  • Restricted customization options

  • Need for specialized behavioral research facilities

As a result, many smaller laboratories struggle to access advanced behavioral analysis tools.

Several free alternatives have been developed in the past, but most offered only basic measurements such as total distance traveled or time spent in specific areas. More advanced behavioral features were often missing.

This is the gap that MouseMove aims to fill.

Introducing MouseMove

MouseMove is an open-source software package specifically designed to provide accurate and detailed behavioral analysis without expensive hardware requirements.

The system consists of two main components:

  1. An ImageJ macro for video preprocessing

  2. A custom graphical user interface (GUI) that analyzes movement data

The software works by tracking the position of a mouse in recorded video footage. It then converts movement information into a wide range of useful behavioral measurements.

Unlike many free alternatives, MouseMove can calculate numerous movement characteristics, including:

  • Distance traveled

  • Average speed

  • Speed variation

  • Time spent stationary

  • Turning behavior

  • Left-right movement preference

  • Curvature of movement paths

The software also generates visual maps and graphs that help researchers quickly understand movement patterns.

Accuracy Comparable to Commercial Systems

A major concern with any new tracking software is accuracy.

To address this, Samson and colleagues conducted extensive testing using a mechanical calibration system. The results were impressive.

MouseMove achieved more than 96% accuracy when measuring:

  • Travel distance

  • Movement speed

  • Turning behavior

  • Directional changes

This level of precision places MouseMove surprisingly close to much more expensive commercial alternatives.

The researchers demonstrated that the software can reliably capture both quantitative and qualitative aspects of locomotion, making it suitable for serious scientific research.

Testing MouseMove in Stroke Research

To evaluate the software under real-world research conditions, the team applied MouseMove to a well-established mouse model of ischemic stroke known as the Middle Cerebral Artery Occlusion (MCAO) model.

In this model, blood flow to part of the brain is temporarily blocked, producing neurological damage similar to that seen in human stroke patients.

Mice that undergo this procedure often develop locomotor deficits, including changes in speed, movement patterns, and directional preference.

Using MouseMove, researchers successfully detected these abnormalities. The software accurately measured differences between healthy mice and those affected by stroke.

Importantly, MouseMove was able to identify subtle movement asymmetries and turning biases that are often associated with brain injury.

These findings demonstrate that the software is capable of detecting meaningful neurological changes and could become a valuable tool for preclinical medical research.

Beyond Movement Tracking

One of MouseMove's most useful features is its Region of Interest (ROI) function.

This allows researchers to define specific areas within an arena and monitor how much time an animal spends there.

The feature expands the software's usefulness beyond the Open Field Test.

For example, it can be used in the Novel Object Recognition (NOR) Test, a widely used cognitive assay that evaluates memory and learning in rodents.

In this test, researchers observe whether mice spend more time investigating new objects compared to familiar ones. MouseMove can automatically quantify these behaviors, reducing the need for labor-intensive manual scoring.

Because of this flexibility, the software can support a broad range of behavioral and cognitive experiments.

Advantages for Researchers

MouseMove offers several important benefits.

Completely Free and Open Source

Unlike commercial packages that can cost thousands of dollars, MouseMove is freely available.

Researchers can inspect, modify, and customize the software according to their needs.

Fast Analysis

Manual behavioral scoring can take several hours for a single experiment.

The MouseMove workflow reduces analysis time dramatically, often processing data in about 10 minutes instead of approximately 3 hours.

High Throughput

The software supports batch processing, allowing large numbers of experiments to be analyzed efficiently.

The developers report using MouseMove to analyze locomotion data from more than 150 mice across multiple research facilities.

Minimal Equipment Requirements

Researchers do not need specialized tracking arenas or advanced behavioral suites.

A simple arena, overhead camera, and standard computer are generally sufficient.

Current Limitations

Despite its strengths, MouseMove is not without limitations.

Commercial systems still provide some advanced capabilities that MouseMove does not currently offer.

For example, MouseMove cannot:

  • Distinguish a mouse's head from its tail

  • Detect rearing behavior

  • Measure defecation events

  • Perform certain complex behavioral classifications

In addition, users must build their own testing setup and install the required software components.

However, for many laboratories, these limitations are outweighed by the software's affordability and accessibility.

A Step Toward More Accessible Science

The development of MouseMove represents more than just a new software tool—it reflects a growing movement toward open and accessible scientific research.

By eliminating expensive barriers to behavioral analysis, MouseMove gives more laboratories the opportunity to conduct high-quality neuroscience and biomedical studies.

Its combination of accuracy, flexibility, speed, and cost-effectiveness makes it a compelling alternative to commercial systems.

As research budgets become increasingly constrained worldwide, open-source solutions like MouseMove could play an important role in democratizing scientific discovery.

For researchers studying brain injury, neurological disorders, cognition, or animal behavior, MouseMove offers a powerful reminder that cutting-edge science does not always require expensive tools—sometimes innovation comes from making advanced technology freely available to everyone.

Reference: Samson, A., Ju, L., Ah Kim, H. et al. MouseMove: an open source program for semi-automated analysis of movement and cognitive testing in rodents. Sci Rep 5, 16171 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/srep16171

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