Mouse Behavioral Platform

The Barnes maze takes advantage of the natural desire of rodents to avoid open, exposed spaces. It consists of a large circular space with 20 holes lining the perimeter. One of the holes has a box underneath it that mice can use to escape the maze, while the others lead to an endless abyss. Visual cues surround the maze to make learning easier. The Barnes maze is similar to the Morris water navigation task and to the radial arm maze task, but does not utilize a strong aversive stimulus (stress induced by swimming such as in the Morris water maze) or deprivation (food or water deprivation such as in the radial arm maze) as reinforcement. Mice performing 1-2 trials per day learn the location of the escape hole within 3-4 days. As with the Morris water maze, escape time, distance traveled, and errors gradually reduce with learning. After training/learning, memory can be tested.
 

REFERENCES

O'Leary TP, Brown RE. Optimization of apparatus design and behavioral measures for the assessment of visuo-spatial learning and memory of mice on the Barnes maze. Learn Mem 2013;20(2):85-96. 
Mouzon B, Chaytow H, Crynen G, et al. Repetitive mild traumatic brain injury in a mouse model produces learning and memory deficits accompanied by histological changes. J Neurotrauma 2012;29(18):2761-2773.

The Elevated Plus Maze (EPM) test is used to assess anxiety-related behaviour by measuring the preference for being in open arms over closed arms.

REFERENCE

Walf and Frye, Nat Protoc. 2007; 2(2): 322–328. doi: 10.1038/nprot.2007.44)

The Grip Strength Meter is a system for determining the gripping strength of small laboratory animals (rat, mouse). Within the context of neuromuscular investigations this test can be used to quantify the effects of hormones, toxins, muscle relaxants and other manipulations on the muscular strength of the animal.

The open field test with videotracking is an experimental test used to assay general locomotor activity levels, anxiety, and willingness to explore in rodents. The setup consists of eight arenas (transparent and black boxes are interchangeable), one camera per each box and sensors for tracking the vertical activity. The system is operated by the software AnyMaze. Object recognition tasks: Object-recognition memory tasks are based on the spontaneous tendency of rodents to spend more time exploring a new object or an object that has been relocated in the exploration field (e.g. Beilharz et al. Brain Behav Immunity 37: 134, 2014). Such tests assess hippocampal-dependent spatial memory (object placement recognition), or cortical functioning (novel object recognition).

Passive Avoidance is a fear-motivated test to evaluate cognitive processes in rodents. The chamber is divided into a black compartment and a white illuminated compartment with a gate between both parts. In the habituation phase, mice are allowed to explore both compartments. In the training session, the animal is placed in the white compartment and when it innately crosses to the black compartment, it receives a mild foot shock. Mice will learn to associate that moving to the dark compartment has negative consequences. In the test session, normal mice will avoid entering the dark chamber. Learning and memory capacities are measured by recording the latency to escape from the white compartment.
 

REFERENCES

Baarendse PJ, van Grootheest G, Jansen RF, et al. Differential involvement of the dorsal hippocampus in passive avoidance in C57bl/6J and DBA/2J mice. Hippocampus 2008;18(1):11-19.
Madjid N, Tottie EE, Luttgen M, et al. 5-Hydroxytryptamine 1A receptor blockade facilitates aversive learning in mice: interactions with cholinergic and glutamatergic mechanisms. J Pharmacol Exp Ther  2006;316(2):581-591.

The rotarod test is widely used to assess general motor dexterity in rodents (Zausinger et al. 2000; Luesse et al. 2001; Jeong et al. 2003; Karl et al. 2003). The test measures a mouse ability to maintain itself on a rod that turns at accelerating speeds.

The Y-maze is usually employed to assess hippocampal-dependent spatial memory by measuring the spontaneous alternation behaviour in a Y-maze.

REFERENCES

Duarte et al., Plos One 7(4): e21899, 2012.
Lizarbe et al., Front Neurosci 12:985, 2019.