Webinar

Don’t Look Down: Stress Behavior in Long-Evans Rats On A Novel Elevated Open Field

by Jason Rogers, PhD

The open field and elevated plus maze are standard tests to study anxiety or stress-related behaviors in rodents. It is often recommended to use both tasks as a battery; however, sometimes animals display anxiety-like behaviors in one test but do not in another. To combat these issues, the current experiment used a hybrid, elevated open field, to assess the anxiety behaviors in rats who underwent chronic unpredictable stress (CUS).  The data show that after CUS, animals spent more time in the center of the apparatus and less time at the edge. In addition, they had a longer latency to explore the edge and had fewer head dips. Finally, the CUS animals maintained more distance from the edge but had no difference from controls in overall distance traveled or speed. Taken together, these data show how automated systems like EthoVision XT can be used to develop and define novel techniques for the study of rodent behavior.

Individuality in Naturalistic Deer Mouse Behaviors – Perspectives on Psychobiology

by De Wet Wolmarans, PhD

Studies of rodent behavior contribute to a better understanding of human psychobiological processes. Behavior that deviates from what is regarded as ‘normal’ can generally be induced or studied under spontaneous circumstances. With respect to the latter research framework, near accurate separation between what is ‘normal’ and ‘abnormal’ is vital. In this presentation, closer attention will be afforded to some biobehavioral differences that are observed between animals of the same laboratory-housed wildtype mouse species, the deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus bairdii). Further, some focus will be afforded to the manner in which such behaviors are observed, quantified, and then applied against a translational background of conditions characterized by persistent behaviors, like obsessive-compulsive disorder. The presentation will then be concluded by highlighting a need for the individualized analysis of animal behaviors in the study of naturalistic behavioral expressions as model systems that are aimed at improving our understanding of human conditions.

Key Topics Include:

• Using the Elevated Open Field to assess stress/anxiety
• Effects of chronic unpredictable stress on anxiety-like behaviors in rats
• Characteristics of naturalistic behaviors commonly observed in laboratory-housed mice
• Importance of accurate analysis of naturalistic animal behaviors, although subjective, to inform our understanding of spontaneous psychobiological trajectories