Together with the University of Otago's IT department the Centre for Neuroendocrinology has reformulated the once-popular PULSAR algorithm of Merriam and Wachter (original paper) to operate on contemporary computer systems.
This algorithm in the past was widely used in the field of neuroendocrinology to analyse pulsatile hormone secretion, but, due to its incompatibility with modern computers, has seen little use in recent decades and nowadays the analysis of e.g. pulsatile LH secretion is piecemeal across the field with each laboratory using their own methodology.
Using photometry recordings of the GnRH pulse generator in freely behaving mice we have been able to unambiguously define LH pulses in intact and gonadectomized male and female mice. These data sets were used to determine the appropriate PULSAR parameter sets for analysing pulsatile LH secretion in the mouse. See our publication here.
An online browser-based version of the PULSAR Otago analysis tool can be found here: https://pulsar.otago.ac.nz
Alternatively, PULSAR Otago tool is available as an “R Shiny” project to run on a user's own local computer from https://github.com/phadenz/PulsarOtago.
Detailed instructions on how to install and set up PULSAR Otago can be accessed from the PULSAR Otago web interface.