Behavioural pharmacology- Rex

Question 1

What is the goal of behavioural pharmacology?

Answer 1

to develop and refine behavioural procedures effective in screening drug conditions for potential clinical effectiveness

Question 2

what is the INDEPENDENT variable in behavioural pharmacology?

Answer 2

dose

Question 3

what is the DEPENDENT variable in behavioural pharmacology?

Answer 3

response (behaviour)

Question 4

why are placebo controls so important? (+ example from a study)

Answer 4

Placebo groups are very important for the assessment of the true, physiological effect of a drug, the dose-response interaction and the safety of a drug.

the study of Levine (1977) is a example for the importance of placebo:

• 2 groups - one given real analgesic and one given a placebo.
• both groups report analgesia
• naloxone given–> pain return only reported in real analgesia group (not in placebo)

Question 5

list common dependent variables

Answer 5

• arousal level
• sensory measurements: timing, threshold
• cognition: memory, vigilance
• motor tasks- motor coordination

Question 6

an animal model…

a. is homologous to the condition in humans
b. is an experimental preparation developed to study a condition in the same or different species
c. has to be developed to study a condition of the same species.

Answer 6

b

Question 7

what is predictive validity?

Answer 7

the ability of the model to predict the human phenomenon usually refers to treatment (pharmacological isomorphism)
–> predictive validity and reliability may be sufficient to define a good model.

Question 8

what is construct validity?

Answer 8

the accuracy with which a model measures what is intended to measure –> most important criterion

Question 9

what are the criterions of model validation?

Answer 9

predictive validity, construct validity, face validity

Question 10

what is face validity?

Answer 10

the modes resembles the condition being studied

Question 11

what is the likelihood of adverse effect found in an animal model to occur in humans?

Answer 11

68%

Question 12

what are the general rules for animal models?

Answer 12

• don’t anthropomorphise
• emotions are internal and species specific
• a human experimenter can not know if a mouse is feeling afraid or anxious, but they can only observe the behavioural responses to stimuli.
• anatomy, physiology and neurochemistry in rodents are similar to humans

Question 13

how can one standardise behavioural tests?

Answer 13

• quiet environment
• same experimenter the whole time
• trials at the same time of the day always
• use positive conditioning

Question 14

what are the variables in behavioural experimentation?

Answer 14

1. variables related to the animal:
   - species
   - gender
   - age
   - housing/breeding
2. environmental factors:
   - noise
   - light
   - temperature
   - food
   - phase
3. variables related to the experimenter:
   - education/experience
   - position towards the animal
   - experimental procedure
   - handling

Question 15

why is it important to control for noise when conducting an experiment? how would you do that?

Answer 15

loud and random noise, can disrupt behaviour (e.g. false startle response..). therefore, it is important to control experiments with white noise .

Question 16

why is it important to control for light when conducting an experiment?

Answer 16

• light changes can result in behavioural changes, and high light intensity can can be anxiogenic.

Question 17

if you want to study the effect of a drug on motor function after ischemia, which test would you use, why, which parameters are measured in the test?

Answer 17

• in order to study motor function, one could use the rota rod test. In this test, animals are placed 3-20 on a rotating, accelerating rod. healthy mice can run on the rod for the entire testing time, but animals with motor disfunction would struggle to stay on the rod.
• parameters: time on the accelerating rod; max. speed of the rod at the time of the fall.

–> 3 groups of mice, 1- control; 2- ischemia; 3- ischemia+drug –> test all on the rod, determine the differences.

–> other alternatives: pole test, corner test…

Question 18

what 2 tests would you use to study learning and memory?

Answer 18

1. Morris Watte Maze (MWM)- a test used to study spatial memory and learning;
   - a large tub of milky water –> to get out if the water the animal has to swim and find a raised platform located in 1 quarter of the tub.
   - -> rats learn the task fast even if placed at a different position they find the platform by using environmental queues.
   - -> one can also move the platform to a different place to study the searching strategies.
2. novel object recognition test (NOR)- a test to study the memory and exploration of rodents.
   - first trial: 2 familiar objects
   - second trial: 1 familiar object (FO) and one novel object (NO)
   - discrimination index d2 = (exploration NO-exploration FO)/ total exploration time trial 2

Question 19

you would like to test the effects of a new potential treatment for anxiety. what animal model would you use?

Answer 19

in order to study anxiety related behaviour, one can use the open field test.

• in the OFT, animal is placed in a large open arena and its behaviour is observed.
  parameters:
• feeding behaviour
• time until first food intake in the OF
• time spent in the centre of the OF
• number of rearings
• distance travelled
• time spent grooming