Behavioral Testing Flashcards
What is the name of this device & what is it used to measure?
Activity or Open Field Chamber
Measures general motor activity
What is the name of this device and what is it used to measure?
Hole Board
Used to measure general locomotor activity
What is this device used to measure?
Locomotor activity & rotational behavior
Used to detect phenotypes resulting in unidirectional locomotor defects
What is the name of the device and what is it used to measure?
Rotarod
Motor coordination and balance
Most mice stay on for several minutes at 5rpm
Rod accelerated from 4-40rpm over 5 min
Measure latency to fall
Name the device and describe what it is used to measure.
Balance Beam
Motor coordination and balance
Traverse narrow beams to safety platform with safety box
Measure latency to traverse and # of “foot slips”
Name the device and describe what it is used to measure.
Motor coordination, grip & balance
2cm dia pole wrapped in cloth tape, mouse in center, then pole gradually brought to vertical position
Measure latency to fall
Name the test and describe what it is used to measure.
Hanging Wire test
Measures grip strength and balance
May use a standard cage lid with taped edges
Measure latency to fall
Name the device/test and describe what it is used to measure.
Grip Strength Test
Measures grip strength and balance
Weight is attached to tail
Mouse holds on to wire with both front paws
Measure force that causes the mouse to let go
Name the device and describe what it is used to measure.
Running Wheel
Measures circadian activity by conducting temporal analysis of the running wheel activity
Name the test and describe what it is used to measure.
Footprint pattern/Gait analysis
Measures gait abnormalities
Ataxia indicated by highly variable stride length & path
Name 3 methods of assessing vision in mice.
blink reflex
PLR
visual discrimination using maze & vertical vs. horizontal stripes to avoid shock
Morris Water Maze with VISIBLE platform
Name 5 strains that are blind by weaning & therefore would not be expected to perform normally in vision testing.
CBA
FVB
C3H/He
SJL
SWR
What is the most well developed sense in rodents?
olfaction
A strong puff of air in the face of a rodent induces what response?
Startle response
Name the device.
Von Frey’s Hairs
Name the testing modality and describe what is being measured.
Touch test using Von Frey’s Hairs
Measures pain threshold
Mechanical withdrawal threshold is defined as the minimum guage wire that elicits withdrawal
Name the test and describe what it is used to measure.
Tail Flick Test
Measure SPINAL REFLEX response to pain
High intensity beam of focused light 15mm from tail tip
Measure latency to flick tail from beam
Name the test and describe what it is used to measure.
Tail/foot withdrawal test
Test of nociception
A container of liquid is heated or cooled to a nociceptive temperature – normally 50–55°C or below 0°C. The animal subject is then placed with its tail/foot immersed in the liquid, and the latency to withdraw the tail/foot from the liquid is measured.
Name the test and describe what it is used to measure.
Hot Plate Test
Measure of nociception: latency to pain-reflex behavior is measured.
Differs from tail flick in that the response involves a reflex response that includes the brain
One complication of this assay is its unsuitability for repeated testing. Animals that have been subjected to the hot-plate test in the past display a behavioral tolerance phenomenon, which is characterized by decreased latencies and reduced sensitivities to antinociceptive agents. Another complication of the hot-plate test is determining what constitutes a behavioral pain response; is it the lifting/licking of paws, vocalization, attempting to climb out of the cylinder, etc
Name the test and describe what it is used to measure.
Morris Swim Task using Morris Water Maze
Considered the #1 test to evaluate learning & memory when phenotyping GEMs
Mouse swims to hidden platform using visual clues
Originally used by Morris to show that lesion in the HIPPOCAMPUS affect spatial learning
Name the test and describe what it is used to measure.
Barnes Spatial Maze
Gaining popularity over other testing modalities
No water required and no food/water restriction
1 of 18 holes leads to an escape box
Measure is latency to escape
Describe Cued and Contextual Fear Conditioning & how such testing is conducted.
Measures ability to learn and remember an association between aversive experiences and environmental cues
Data are collected are “freezing episodes”
Day 1: Condition Training - mouse placed in a chamber and cue (tone) + shock is applied; freezing episodes are measured; measures unconditioned fear
Day 2, Part 1: Contextually Conditioned Fear - mouse is placed in a similar chamber as Day 1 & # of spontaneous freezing episodes are measured (in absense of tone or shock)
Day 2, Part 2: Contextual Discrimination of Fear Conditioning and Cued Conditioning - mouse placed in distinctly different chamber and freezing bouts are measured with and without cue
Name the device and describe what it is used to measure.
Radial Maze
Measures spatial learning and memory
Desribe how testing is conducted using a Radial Arm Maze.
Animals are food restricted
Animals are receive food reward for visiting an arm the first time, but receive negative reinforcement if an arm is revisited.
Measure time it takes to collect all food
Name the device, describe what it is used to measure, and descibe how tests are conducted.
T Maze
Measures spatial learning and memory
Animals are food or water restricted, then reinforced with food or water reward at alternating ends of the maze
Animals must remember which end was previously reinforced to get reward
Can also be used for avoidance tests
Name the device and how it is used in behavioral testing.
Operant Chamber aka “Skinner Box”
An operant conditioning chamber permits experimenters to study behavior conditioning (training) by teaching a subject animal to perform certain actions (like pressing a lever) in response to specific stimuli, like a light or sound signal. When the subject correctly performs the behavior, the chamber mechanism delivers food or another reward.
Name the device and describe how it is used in behavior testing.
Shuttle Box
A shuttle box is a piece of apparatus used in animal learning experiments. The box is divided into two halves and the animal must move from one compartment to the other in order to gain their reward or to avoid an adversive stimulus.
Name the device and describe what it is used to measure.
Light/Dark Box
Measure of anxiety
Mice naturally prefer dark, protected environments
Measure is the the willingness to explore illuminate, unprotected area
Data collected is the number of transitions between compartments and time spent in each
Name the device and describe what it is used to measure.
Elevated Plus Maze
Measure of anxiety
Mice tend to want to spend more time in the enclosed arms
Measure is time spent in open vs. closed portions of the maze.
Name the device and describe what it is used to measure.
What advantage does it hold over the other primary testing device?
Elevated Zero Maze
Used to measure anxiety
The design eliminates the “ambiguous area” in the elevated plus maze, which is the open space between the arms
What test is being conducted and what does it serve as a model for?
Porsolt Forced Swim Test
It is a model of depression & for testing antidepressants
Animals are subjected to two trials during which they are forced to swim in an acrylic glass cylinder filled with water, and from which they cannot escape. The first trial lasts 15 minutes. Then, after 24-hours, a second trial is performed that lasts 5 minutes. The time that the test animal spends without moving in the second trial is measured. This immobility time is decreased by antidepressants.
What test is being performed and what for what disease model is it commonly used?
Tail Suspension Test
Used in models of depression
Mice suspended by the tail eventually give up and become immobile & time is measured until immobility
May be favored over Pasolt Forced Swim Test because it avoids water and is may be less stressful to the animals
