Behavioral Models

Below is a list of Behavioral Testing Core Protocols. Use the quick links below to jump to the protocol you would like to review.

28-point Neuroscore Test

Apparatus: Ribbed bar, Wire sheet/grid
Domains: Neuromotor function after hypoxic injury
Rat, Mouse

Assessment of motor and behavior deficits, typically performed after ischemic injury. Subjects are scored on 11 different measures of locomotor activity, body conditioning, sensorimotor coordination, and motor reflexes in any order. Can be performed simultaneously with Garcia Neurological Test.

3-Chamber Sociability and Social Novelty Test

Apparatus: 3-Chamber Sociability Arena
Domains: Social preference, Social memory
Rat, Mouse

The 3-Chamber Sociability and Social Novelty Test is a behavioral assay designed to evaluate social behavior, social preference, and social memory in rodents. It involves observing the subject’s interaction with a novel conspecific versus a familiar one, providing insights into social recognition and preference for social novelty. This test is particularly useful for studying the neural mechanisms underlying social behavior, which involve regions such as the prefrontal cortex (decision-making and social behavior), hippocampus (memory formation), and amygdala (emotion processing).

5-choice Serial Reaction Time Task (5CRST)

Apparatus: Bussey-Saksida Touchscreen Chambers
Domains: Attention, Impulse Control, Vigilance
Rat

The 5CRST test assesses cognitive control in rodents. It involves training the rodent to watch for a stimulus to appear in one of five locations on a touchscreen. The subject must then quickly respond by touching only the stimulus to earn a food reward. The 5CSRT test assesses attention, impulse control, and vigilance in the rodents’ reactions to these stimuli. 

Autoshaping (AUTO) 

Apparatus: Bussey-Saksida Touchscreen Chambers
Domains: Autoshaping
Rat

The AUTO v1_1 task is used to study classical conditioning and Pavlovian responses in learning. In this task, white vertical rectangles are presented on either side of the reward tray. One side is always followed by delivery of food reward, the other never. Reward is independent of screen approach. The subjects’ approaches to the screen are recorded as a measure of associative learning and motivation. 

Barnes Maze Test

Apparatus: Barnes Maze
Domains: Spatial navigation memory
Mouse

The Barnes Maze is a behavioral assay designed to assess spatial learning and memory in rodents. The maze consists of a circular platform with multiple evenly spaced holes around its perimeter, only one of which leads to an escape box or a darkened chamber where the animal can find refuge. This test relies on rodents’ predisposition to seek out dark areas. The rodents’ spatial learning and memory is assessed by their ability to remember the location of the escape hole. Brain regions and processes involved in the Barnes maze include the hippocampus (spatial memory and navigation, long-term memory) and prefrontal cortex (planning, decision making). 

Conditioned Place Preference (CPP)

Apparatus: Conditioned Place Preference Chambers
Domains: Stimulus or drug preference/hedonic value, Associative learning
Rat, Mouse

Utilizes associative classical conditioning to determine if subjects found a stimulus or drug compound rewarding or aversive. Subjects are given a drug compound and then placed in a chamber with distinctive visual stimuli. Later, subjects are returned to the apparatus and assessed for the amount of time they spend in the drug-associated room compared to a visually distinct and novel room.

Contextual & Cued Fear Conditioning (CFC)

Apparatus: Med Associates CFC Chambers
Domains: Classical conditioning, Fear conditioning, Stimulus discrimination
Rat, Mouse

Contextual & Cued Fear Conditioning is a Pavlovian conditioning paradigm used to assess learning and memory in rodents. Rodents are placed in a perceptually distinct chamber (context) and exposed to repeated pairings of a cue (tone) and an aversive stimulus (mild footshock). When rodents are subsequently exposed to the shock-associated context or cue they should display a freezing behavior, indicative of a fear response. Rodents’ freezing responses to shock-associated context/cues and how they change across extinction trials reflect rodents’ learning and memory. Brain regions involved in CFC include the amygdala (emotion, fear conditioning), hippocampus (learning, memory), and frontal/cingulate cortices (attention allocation).

Delayed Match-to-Place Water Maze

Apparatus: Water Maze
Domains: Spatial navigation memory, Working memory
Rat, Mouse

Subjects are placed into a large tank of water twice a day and must rely on distant spatial cues to find a hidden escape platform submerged beneath the water’s surface. The location of the submerged platform changes daily, so subjects must learn the new platform location in the first trial each morning and remember how to find it again for the second trial in the afternoon. Subjects with impaired spatial learning take longer to find the platform and/or show less efficient search strategies. The main brain regions and processes involved in the task include the hippocampus (explicit memory, spatial memory) and prefrontal cortex (executive function, cognitive flexibility).

Discriminative Conditioning

Apparatus: Operant Chambers
Domains: Stimulus discrimination, Explicit memory
Rat, Mouse

Conditioning paradigm that requires subjects to distinguish a neutral stimulus from a stimulus that signals a food reward can be earned . Subjects are randomly presented with one of two stimuli that indicate a food reward is unavailable or available. Subjects must learn which stimulus indicates food reward is available and correctly perform a targeted behavior in order to earn that reward. The main brain regions and processes involved in the task include the hippocampus (explicit memory) and prefrontal cortex (executive function).

Elevated Plus Maze (EPM)

Apparatus: Elevated Plus Maze
Domains: Anxiety, Locomotion
Rat, Mouse

The Elevated Plus Maze is a behavioral assay used to assess anxiety-like behaviors in rodents. This test relies on rodents’ natural aversion for open and elevated areas, as well as their innate exploratory tendencies. It consists of an elevated apparatus with perpendicularly-crossed open and closed arms, as well as a center area. Rodents are allowed to move freely within the maze. The number of entries into the open arms and the time spent in them are used as indices of open space-induced anxiety. In this way, the subjects’ preference for the closed vs. the open arms is used as a measure of their anxiety levels. Brain regions and processes involved in the EPM are those relating to emotionality, like the amygdala, or regions involved in neuroendocrine activity like the hypothalamus. The EPM is often used to assess the anxiolytic or anxiogenic effects of various interventions (such as GABAergic drugs or early-life stress exposure). 

Event Arena

Apparatus: Event Arena
Domains: Spatial learning and memory, Exploration
Rat

The Event Arena is used to assess spatial memory and learning in rodents. This test consists of a tiled arena with sandwells in some of the tiles. Each sandwell has food that is either accessible via digging (reward) or inaccessible (olfactory distractor stimulus). Rats must use spatial cues to navigate the arena and learn the location of the rewarded sandwell. The main brain regions and processes involved in the Event Arena test include the hippocampus (spatial memory and navigation) and prefrontal cortex (memory, planning, decision making).

Exercise Wheel

Apparatus: Exercise Wheel
Domains: Locomotor function, Exercise
Rat

The exercise wheel is used to assess physical activity and motivation in rodents. It consists of a wheel similar to a hamster wheel, and involves analyzing parameters including running patterns, speed, time, activity levels, etc. The main brain regions and processes involved in the exercise wheel test include the prefrontal cortex (motivation, goal-directed behavior), primary motor cortex (movement), and cerebellum (coordination). 

Forced Swim Test (FST) 

Apparatus: Forced Swim Test
Domains: Depression
Rat, Mouse

The forced swim test is used to assess depressive-like behaviors in rodents. It involves placing subjects in cylindrical containers filled with water, from which they cannot escape. The subjects initially try to swim and escape, but eventually become immobile and float instead. The latency to initiate and time spent in immobility (floating) is used as a measure of loss of motivation and depressive-like behavior. The main brain regions and processes involved in the forced swim test include the prefrontal cortex (decision-making, mood regulation). 

Garcia Neurological Test

Apparatus: Wire sheet/grid
Domains: Neuromotor function after hypoxic injury
Rat, Mouse

Assessment of sensorimotor function and behavior deficits, typically performed after injury or in animal models of neurological disease. Subjects are scored on six different measures that assess locomotor coordination, proprioception, and sensorimotor activity. Can be performed simultaneously with the 28-point Neuroscore Test.

Grid/Ladder Walking/Foot Fault Task

Apparatus: Ladder Apparatus
Domains: Sensorimotor function, Motor coordination
Rat

Assessment of locomotor coordination. Subjects are placed on a specialized horizontal ladder with a floor plate just below and a goal box at the other end. Subjects must cross the ladder and enter the goal box as quickly as possible with minimal errors. The number of times that subjects’ feet slip below the rungs of the ladder (i.e., foot faults) are measured as an indicator of impaired locomotor and sensorimotor coordination.

Hot Plate Test

Apparatus: Hot Plate
Domains: Thermal pain sensitivity 
Rat, Mouse

The Hot Plate Test is a widely used method for evaluating nociception (pain response) and analgesic effects in rodents. The test involves placing a subject on a heated surface and measuring the time it takes for the animal to respond to the heat, typically through behaviors such as paw licking, paw flicking, or jumping. This test is useful for studying the efficacy of analgesics and understanding pain mechanisms, involving brain regions such as the thalamus (sensory perception), anterior cingulate cortex (emotional response to pain), and the periaqueductal gray (pain modulation).

Light-dark Box Test (LDB)

Apparatus: Open Field Arena
Domains: Anxiety, Locomotion
Rat, Mouse

The light/dark box test assesses unconditioned anxiety responses and anxiety levels in rodents. It consists of a light and dark compartment, and relies on rodents’ natural predisposition to be in darker areas. Rodents are initially placed in the light compartment and are allowed to explore the two compartments freely. Rodents with higher anxiety tend to spend less time in, and display decreased locomotion/rearing, in the light compartment. The time spent in the light vs. dark compartments, as well as locomotion/rearing in them, are recorded as a measure of anxiety-like behavior. The main brain regions and processes involved in the LDB include the amygdala (emotion, anxiety) and prefrontal cortex (decision making, executive function). 

Location Discrimination (LD)

Apparatus: Bussey-Saksida Touchscreen Chambers
Domains: Pattern Separation, Spatial Memory 
Rat

The LD v2 task assesses cognitive functions, particularly pattern separation and spatial memory, in rodents. In the LD task, the subject is required to discriminate between two white squares on the screen. Responses to squares on one side of the screen will be rewarded, while responses on the other side of the screen will be punished with a timeout period. The distance between the two squares varies from trial to trial.

Morris Water Maze (MWM)

Apparatus: Water Maze
Domains: Spatial navigation memory
Rat, Mouse

The Morris Water Maze (MWM) is a behavioral assay designed to assess spatial learning and memory in rodents. In this assay, subjects are placed in a large tank of water and must rely on distant spatial cues to find a submerged escape platform. The MWM is often used to evaluate cognitive functions, as rodents with impaired spatial learning take longer to find the platform or show less efficient search strategies. The main brain regions and processes involved in the MWM include the hippocampus (spatial memory and navigation) and prefrontal cortex (executive function).

Novel Object Recognition (NOR)

Apparatus: Open Field Arena
Domains: Object recognition memory
Rat, Mouse

The Novel Object Recognition test is a behavioral assay designed to assess recognition learning and memory in rodents. It involves first training the rodent with two identical objects, and then replacing one of them with a new object. If the rodent recognizes the object has changed, their bias towards novelty will lead them to spend more time investigating the novel object than the familiar object. Brain regions and processes involved in the NOR include the hippocampus (memory formation) and parahippocampal regions of the temporal lobe (visual objection recognition). The NOR is often used to assess short-, intermediate-, and long-term memory through the use of different retention intervals. 

Open Field Test (OFT) 

Apparatus: Open Field Arena
Domains: Anxiety, Locomotion
Rat, Mouse

The Open Field Test (OFT) is a behavioral assay designed to assess anxiety-like behaviors and locomotor activity in rodents. In this assay, subjects are allowed to move freely within an arena for a designated time period. Rodents with high anxiety will display thigmotaxis by spending more time near the walls of the arena, while low anxiety subjects will spend more time exploring in the center of the arena. Brain regions and processes involved in the OFT are those relating to locomotion and emotionality, including the amygdala (emotionality, fear), the prefrontal cortex (decision-making, behavioral regulation), and the basal ganglia (motivation, exploration, motor activity).

Paired-Associate Learning Task (PAL)

Apparatus: Bussey-Saksida Touchscreen Chambers
Domains: Pair Association, Visuospatial discrimination, Working Memory, Learning
Rat

The PAL v2 task assesses visual memory and learning in rodents. In the PAL task, subjects learn and remember which of three objects goes in which of three spatial locations. On a given trial, two different objects are presented; one in its correct location; the other in an incorrect location. The subject must choose which stimulus is in the correct location. In humans, a similar task has proved to be highly effective for the early detection of Alzheimer’s disease.

Passive/Inhibitory Avoidance (PA/IA) 

Apparatus: Gemini Avoidance System 
Domains: Classical conditioning, Fear conditioning
Rat, Mouse

The Passive (Inhibitory) Avoidance test is a behavioral assay designed to assess learning and (long-term) memory in rodents. This assay uses a shuttle-box apparatus with an illuminated chamber and dark chamber separated by a door. Subjects start in the light chamber and when the door opens they will move into the dark chamber, as rodents are predisposed to be in darker areas. Once inside the dark chamber they will receive a mild but aversive foot shock. On the following trial, subjects’ latencies to enter the dark chamber is measured as an indicator of how well they recall the association between the dark chamber and the mild foot shock. Additional trials with no foot shocks can also be performed to assess subjects’ extinction/reversal learning. Brain regions and processes involved in the PA test include the basal ganglia (response acquisition, retention), the amygdala (emotion, fear conditioning), and the hippocampus (learning, memory). 

Pasta Matrix Reaching Task

Apparatus: Reaching Chambers (manual)
Domains: Forelimb function, Motor learning
Rat, Mouse

The Pasta Matrix Task is an assessment of motor learning that is often performed as an assessment of hemiparesis and hemiplegia recovery after a hypoxic ischemic event. Subjects are placed in a chamber that has a slim opening towards the right or left corner of the wall. The objective is for subjects to use the forearm on the injured side of their body to reach through the opening and grab pieces of dry pasta standing upright on the other side. Subjects are able to obtain more pasta by altering their reach trajectory, thereby making more use of the injured arm. Brain regions and domains relevant to this task include the primary motor and somatosensory cortices, sensorimotor integration, and motor learning.

Plantar/Hargreaves Test

Apparatus: Hargreaves apparatus
Domains: Thermal pain sensitivity 
Rat, Mouse

The Plantar/Hargreaves test is used to assess thermal pain sensation in rodents. It involves applying a radiant or infrared heat stimulus to the plantar surface of the hind paw, and measuring the latency time until the animal withdraws its paw as a measure of pain sensitivity. The main brain regions and processes involved in the Hargreaves test include the spinal cord (pain modulation) and somatosensory cortex (pain perception).

Progressive Ratio Conditioning

Apparatus: Operant Chambers
Domains: Motivation, Reward salience
Rat, Mouse

Subjects are taught to perform a targeted behavior to earn a food reward. As performance improves, the subjects must perform the behavior increasingly more times to earn the same amount of food reward. The number of times that a subject will perform the behavior to earn food reward is measured as an indicator of reward salience and motivation.

Radial Arm Maze (RAM)

Apparatus: Radial Arm Maze
Domains: Working memory, Spatial navigation memory
Rat

The Radial Arm Maze is used to assess spatial memory in rodents. It consists of eight or more “arms” radiating from a central starting point, only one of which contains a food reward. Animals are trained to recognize that only one of the arms will contain food, and the time and arms visited before the reward is found is measured. Exploring a previously visited arm indicates that the subject did not remember previously choosing that spatial path. The main brain regions involved in the radial arm maze include the hippocampus (spatial memory, navigation) and prefrontal cortex (working memory, decision-making).

Reaching/Isometric Pull Task

Apparatus: Reaching Chambers (automated)
Domains: Forelimb function, Motor learning
Rat

The Isometric Pull Task assesses locomotor function and motivation in rodents. It involves training the subject to pull a lever/handle with a specified force to receive a reward, usually a food pellet. Parameters including force exerted, pull duration, pull frequency, pull latency, and success rate are recorded to assess both motor function and strength, and motivation for the reward. The main brain regions and processes involved in the isometric pull task include the primary motor cortex (movement), striatum (procedural memory), and basal ganglia (action selection, reward processing). 

Righting Reflex Assessment

Apparatus: A flat surface
Domains: Neuromotor reflex function
Rat, Mouse

Assessment of neuromotor coordination and reflexive responding. Subjects are positioned onto their backs on a flat surface. A subject’s latency to flip onto their stomach or feet is measured as an indicator of sensorimotor coordination and neuromotor reflex function.

Rotarod Test

Apparatus: Rotarod
Domains: Motor coordination
Rat, Mouse

The Rotarod test assesses motor coordination and balance in rodents by measuring their ability to stay on a rotating rod. The test involves training the rodents to walk on the rod and then evaluating their performance as the rod’s speed increases. The main brain regions and processes involved in the isometric pull task include the primary motor cortex (movement) and cerebellum (coordination).

Sequential T-maze

Apparatus: T-maze
Domains: Working memory, Spatial navigation memory
Rat, Mouse

The sequential T-maze test assesses sequential spatial learning memory in rodents. It consists of a starting arm and two goal arms, arranged in the shape of a “T.” Food reward is placed at the end of the goal arms and subjects are placed at the end of the start arm. Once a subject reaches the end of a goal arm they are removed from the maze. In the subsequent trial, the subject must remember which arm they have not visited to obtain the remaining food reward. This process can be repeated multiple times to assess spatial sequence learning and memory. The main brain regions and processes involved in the T-maze test include the hippocampus (explicit memory, spatial navigation). 

SmithKline, Harwell, Imperial College, Royal Hospital, Phenotype Assessment (SHIRPA)

Apparatus: Cylindrical viewing jar, open field arena, wire grid, hanging bar, forceps, very thin paintbrush or wire bristle, small plastic rod, ruler
Domains: Phenotyping

SHIRPA is a standardized battery of brief tests that assess a variety of phenotype characteristics, particularly in subjects that are transgenic or used in animal models of a disorder. Subjects are assessed by investigators in 3 stages. Stage 1 is observational, stage 2 analyzes behavior and pathology, and stage 3 is tailored by investigators to assess models of various neurological disorders as well as phenotypic variability.

Spontaneous Alternation in T-maze

Apparatus: T-maze
Domains: Working memory, Spatial navigation memory
Rat, Mouse

The T-maze test assesses spatial learning, exploration, and memory in rodents. It consists of a starting arm and two goal arms, arranged in the shape of a “T.” The test relies on rodents’ natural preferences towards novel environments – with repeated trials, the subjects should show less of a tendency to enter a previously visited arm. The number of turns in each arm and total trial duration are recorded during the T-maze test. The main brain regions and processes involved in the T-maze test include the hippocampus (spatial memory). 

Trial-unique Nonmatching-to-Location Task (TUNL)

Apparatus: Bussey-Saksida Touchscreen Chambers
Domains: Working Memory, Pattern Separation
Rat

The TUNL v2 task assesses spatial working memory and spatial pattern separation in rodents. In the TUNL v2 task, animals are presented with a sample location, and following a delay, with the (incorrect, S-) sample location and a (correct, S+) non-matching location. The task is designed to reduce confounding motor-mediated responses and assess the cognitive processes involved in working memory and pattern separation.

Two-choice Paired/Visual Discrimination Reversal (PD)

Apparatus: Bussey-Saksida Touchscreen Chambers
Domains: Pair Association, Visuospatial discrimination
Rat

The PD v2 task assesses cognitive flexibility and learning in rodents. In this task, animals are presented with a touchscreen display and are trained to associate specific visual stimuli with rewards. The task consists of two stages: visual discrimination and reversal learning. The animal’s ability to learn and reverse-learn the reward contingencies are a measure of its cognitive flexibility. 

Visuomotor Conditioning Learning (VMCL) 

Apparatus: Bussey-Saksida Touchscreen Chambers
Domains: Visuomotor Discrimination, Learning, Working Memory
Rat

In the VMCL v2 task, animals are presented with a touchscreen display and learn to associate specific visual stimuli with specific motor responses. Subjects that perform the correct response for the presented stimulus receive a food reward. This task assesses visuomotor associative learning and conditioning. The main brain regions and processes involved in this task include the hippocampus (explicit memory), striatum (procedural memory), and basal ganglia (action selection). 


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