Better together or happier apart? The effects of housing on stress in mice
Does housing mice on their own affect animal welfare and reduce experimental validity? How was EthoVision XT video tracking software used to automate this investigation?
3 high impact papers about measuring anxiety in the Elevated Zero Maze
The elevated zero maze (EZM) is a variation on the elevated plus maze (EPM) and was created to eliminate the center region of the EPM. This blog highlights 3 studies that use the EZM to test for anxiety-like behavior
Anxiety and Autism
The EU-AIMS and AIMS-2-TRIALS projects have carried out some interesting studies teasing out the causes of anxiety in children with autism.
Robust and reliable: Measuring anxiety in the Elevated plus maze
Screening of anxiety-like behavior in the elevated plus maze becomes more reliable with Ethovision XT combined with the standardization of testing parameters and common practices.
Direct observations help develop effective interventions in adolescence
Presenting a study in which family and friendship dynamics in adolescence were observed in order to develop more personalized interventions that prevent problem behaviors and adjustment issues.
Is a unique calcium regulating mechanism a cause of Gulf War Illness?
Gulf War Illness (GWI) is potentially caused by organophosphate exposure. Through behavioral experiments, using a DFP rat model, researchers tested levetiracetam as a potential cure.
Serious gaming reduces anxiety in children
What is the effectiveness of the applied game called MindLight in teaching children how to cope with anxiety? Wols et al. investigated this game-based intervention.
How to characterize behavioral phenotypes in a behavioral analysis facility
Introducing the Behavioral Analysis Facility. Researchers evaluate the behavioral and functional activities of new pharmacological drugs using diverse functional tests. Learn more about their recent projects.
Helping children cope with social anxiety
Researchers Colonnesi et al. investigated whether social anxiety in 4 year-olds is related to the level of Theory of Mind, and expressing shyness.
Zebrafish provide key insights into alcohol addiction
Why is it that when people drink, only small subsets of individuals develop an alcohol addiction? Steven Tran from the Gerlai Lab tells us why zebrafish are very helpful in the search for the answer to this question.