A new rat model for neonatal white matter injury
Preterm birth is a major problem in neonatal healthcare. Erik van Tilborg developed a new animal model to closely mimic this clinical situation, an important step in finding new treatment options.
Exercise vs anabolic steroids: a rat study
A recent study shows that the use of anabolic steroids diminishes the positive effects of exercise in rats.
Why it doesn’t seem fair to prefer male mice in behavioral studies
Is it justified to use male mice only in behavioral studies, as many diseases affect men and women differently? This might be the most important argument to favor including female mice in certain studies.
IR backlight in rodent behavioral testing
How do mice act in complete darkness? Ann-Kristina Fritz and her colleagues ordered a large, round open field with IR backlight, custom made by Noldus, to investigate.
EthoVision XT and the open field test
Imagine you are dropped in the center of a wide open field. Would you explore the entire area? Or hunker down around the edges, fearing predators and other unknowns?
Dementia symptoms following surgery
This week we have a guest post by Iris Hovens. She has done some really interesting research into the consequences of surgery in terms of reduced memory and concentration problems.
Revealing the secret social role of the CA2 hippocampus
Aggressive behavior is adaptive for most species. But how is this aggressive behavior mediated in the brain? A recent study indicates that the hippocampus is a crucial neural component in mediating social recognition.
A new method to evaluate if dogs are suitable for IED bomb detection
Margaret Gruen and her colleagues recently investigated a new method to assess sound induced fear and anxiety in candidate IED-detection dogs – specifically, Labrador retrievers.
6 things you must consider to improve your open field testing
Here are six recommendations the authors list to improve the translational and predictive value of behavioral readouts.
The do’s and don’ts in behavioral testing: improve your open field test
Scientists have been performing open field tests for quite some time now. Over the years it has become one of the most popular tests in rodent behavioral research. So what’s not to love?