Animal Behavior Research

Stress is a natural thing, and how we cope with it differs from person to person. In research, we use the term coping style, something that emerges early on in life for zebrafish.

Depression has a dramatic effect on quality of life because it results in a persistent low mood that is accompanied by a low self-esteem and a loss of interest in things that give pleasure.

Elske de Haas, Ph.D. studied the effects of fearfulness on the chickens' own behavior and physiology, but also what it did to other individuals.

Leaf sucking creatures like plant aphids are common and can cause considerable damage to plants. Therefore, quite a lot of effort is made to control these tiny creatures.

Jan-Willem Potters used the ErasmusLadder in his thesis research to study the role of specific mutations of plasticity in the cerebellar microcircuit of mice.

Cats can be extremely picky when it comes to food. If the cat doesn’t like it, it will refuse to eat. Reason enough for the pet food industry to try to find out what cats really like.

Traditional standard tests with rats or mice are carried out immediately after human interference. Therefore, the behavior of the animals may not be natural and spontaneous.

Fear is something we all know. It changes our behavior: we freeze, try to escape, or respond with aggression. Fear can also cause anxiety, which is a more complex phenomenon.

The zebrafish (Danio rerio) is increasingly being used as model in behavioural, neurobiological and genetic research.

The cerebellum, our “little brain”, is all about motor control; more specifically, it’s about coordination, precision, and timing.