Behavioral Research Blog - Video Tracking

Some disorders cannot simply be diagnosed with a blood test or tissue-culture. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a good example; its diagnosis relies upon behavioral tests and questionnaires.

As humans, we help each other because it is the right thing to do. We help our friends and our family. And of course we help strangers as well. Right?

Anxiety. It is nature’s way to keep us out of harm’s way, so it is a useful emotion. At times, though, it can also be overwhelming. For some, it gets out of control, irrational, and even disabling.

Did you know that Alzheimer’s and diabetes are linked? Patients with diabetes have an increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and patients with AD show impaired insulin function and glucose metabolism.

If zebrafish are the new mice, guinea pigs might be the new rats. Guinea pigs differ from mice and rats, and that just might make them more suitable due to the fact that these results are more easily translated to humans.

It was no surprise that these blog articles attracted lots of attention. Autism is the fastest-growing serious developmental disability in the U.S. (www.autismspeaks.org). Read the Autism Top 8 Blog Articles.

If you are familiar with neurobehavioral research in any way, you will know that variables like velocity and distance moved are important parameters in a lot of animal behavioral experiments.

Rearing animals specifically for behavioral research is a very common practice. However, the results from behavioral studies with laboratory animals should be interpreted with care.

Novel object recognition is one of the most commonly used behavioral tests on laboratory rodents. It is also easily automated with video tracking software. Want to know how?

European eels (Anguilla anguilla) have a life cycle in which both larvae and adults travel incredible distances. The eggs hatch in the Sargasso Sea near North America and the larvae swim all the way to Europe.