https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/11/191121141318.htm > Using rats that had incurred a stroke that affected the movement of their fore-limbs, the scientists first asked experts to score the rats' degree of impairment based on how they reached for food. Then they input this information into a state-of-the-art deep neural network so that it could learn to score the rats' reaching movements with human-expert accuracy. When the network was subsequently given video footage from a new set of rats reaching for food, it was then also able to score their impairments with similar human-like accuracy. The same program proved able to score other tests given to rats and mice, including tests of their ability to walk across a narrow beam and to pull a string to obtain a food reward. > Artificial neural networks are currently used to drive cars, to interpret video surveillance and to monitor and regulate traffic. This revolution in the use of artificial neural networks has encouraged behavioural neuroscientists to use such networks for scoring the complex behaviour of experimental subjects. Similarly, neurological disorders could also be assessed automatically, allowing quantification of behaviour as part of a check-up or to assess the effects of a drug treatment. This could help avoid the delay that can present a major roadblock to patient treatment.