The Czech National Node, represented by the Institute of Physiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences (IPHYS), provides a preclinical and translational neuroscience-focused contribution through in vivo functional and longitudinal phenotyping of neurodevelopmental processes and experimental modelling of paediatric brain disorders, delivering a comprehensive experimental neuroscience platform that supports translational research via high-resolution behavioural assessment, robust in vivo modelling of neurodevelopment, and a strong emphasis on standardisation, developmental trajectory mapping, and translational validity.
The core activity is the development and application of rodent-based neurobehavioral phenotyping platforms covering motor, cognitive, emotional, social, and neurological domains across postnatal development. This includes longitudinal and developmental trajectory analysis from early postnatal stages to adulthood, with integration of behavioural, pharmacological, and disease-model paradigms. A second key activity is the characterisation of social communication and ultrasonic vocalisation patterns, providing high-resolution quantitative readouts of socio-communicative development relevant to neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders. In addition, IPHYS develops and validates animal models of neurodevelopmental brain disorders, including genetic models, pharmacological manipulations, and environmental approaches such as maternal immune activation. These models are designed to reproduce clinically relevant endophenotypes of conditions such as autism spectrum disorder, epilepsy, and other paediatric neuropsychiatric disorders, and are used for mechanistic studies and preclinical therapeutic testing. A particular emphasis is placed on multi-domain phenotyping to link behavioural, neurophysiological, and molecular signatures across disease-relevant developmental windows. IPHYS provides access to advanced behavioural neuroscience infrastructure, including automated home-cage monitoring systems, behavioural assay batteries, ultrasonic vocalisation recording systems, and neurophysiological and molecular analysis platforms. Strong emphasis is placed on standardisation, reproducibility, and SOP-driven experimental design, ensuring robust, harmonised, and cross-study comparable datasets.