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Elevated Plus Maze
The elevated plus maze (EPM) is a test measuring anxiety in laboratory animals that usually uses rodents as a screening test for putative anxiolytic or anxiogenic compounds and as a general research tool in neurobiological anxiety research such as PTSD and TBI. The model is based on the test animal's aversion to open spaces and tendency to be thigmotaxic. In the EPM, this anxiety is expressed by the animal spending more time in the enclosed arms. Method The test uses an elevated, plus-shaped (+) apparatus with two open and two enclosed arms. The behavioral model is based on the general aversion of rodents to open spaces. This aversion leads to thigmotaxis: a preference for remaining in enclosed spaces or close to the edges of a bounded space. In the EPM, this translates into the animals limiting their movement to the enclosed arms. Anxiety reduction is indicated in the plus-maze by an increase in the proportion of time spent in the open arms (time in open arms/total time i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buspar
Buspirone, sold under the brand name Buspar, among others, is a medication primarily used to treat anxiety disorders, particularly generalized anxiety disorder. Benefits support its short-term use. It is taken by mouth, and it may take up to four weeks to have an effect. Common side effects of buspirone include nausea, headaches, dizziness, and difficulty concentrating. Serious side effects may include hallucinations, serotonin syndrome, and seizures. Its use in pregnancy appears to be safe but has not been well studied, while use during breastfeeding has not been well studied. It is a serotonin 5-HT1A receptor agonist. Buspirone was first made in 1968 and approved for medical use in the United States in 1986. It is available as a generic medication. In 2020, it was the 55th most-commonly prescribed medication in the United States, with more than 12million prescriptions. Medical uses Anxiety Buspirone is used for the short-term and long-term treatment of anxiety disorders ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Animal Cognition
Animal cognition encompasses the mental capacities of non-human animals including insect cognition. The study of animal conditioning and learning used in this field was developed from comparative psychology. It has also been strongly influenced by research in ethology, behavioral ecology, and evolutionary psychology; the alternative name cognitive ethology is sometimes used. Many behaviors associated with the term ''animal intelligence'' are also subsumed within animal cognition. Researchers have examined animal cognition in mammals (especially primates, cetaceans, elephants, dogs, cats, pigs, horses, cattle, raccoons and rodents), birds (including parrots, fowl, corvids and pigeons), reptiles ( lizards, snakes, and turtles), fish and invertebrates (including cephalopods, spiders and insects). Historical background Earliest inferences The mind and behavior of non-human animals has captivated the human imagination for centuries. Many writers, such as Descart ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vogel Conflict Test
The Vogel conflict test (VCT) is a conflict based experimental method primarily used in pharmacology. It is used to determine anxiolytic properties of drugs. The VCT predicts drugs that can manage generalized anxiety disorders and acute anxiety states. Conditioning Suppressing behaviour through punishment is commonly used to determine the anxiolytic properties of drugs. During the VCT, animals are punished by electrical shocks when trying to get either food or water. Therefore, the number of times the animal goes to get food or water decreases. When anxiolytic drugs are injected, the number of times animals go up to get food or water increases, even though the animal will still be punished. Procedure Experiments are done in a mouse operant conditioning chamber. Conditioning chambers are used to train animals to do simple tasks such as pulling a lever or pushing a button. The animals can be rewarded or punished for doing these tasks. The original method by VCT included 48 ho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Morris Water Navigation Task
The Morris water navigation task, also known as the Morris water maze (not to be confused with '' water maze''), is a behavioral procedure mostly used with rodents. It is widely used in behavioral neuroscience to study spatial learning and memory. It enables learning, memory, and spatial working to be studied with great accuracy, and can also be used to assess damage to particular cortical regions of the brain. It is used by neuroscientists to measure the effect of neurocognitive disorders on spatial learning and possible neural treatments, to test the effect of lesions to the brain in areas concerned with memory, and to study how age influences cognitive function and spatial learning. The task is also used as a tool to study drug-abuse, neural systems, neurotransmitters, and brain development. Overview The basic procedure for the Morris water navigation task is that the rat is placed in a large circular pool and is required to find an invisible or visible platform that all ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hole-board Test
The hole-board test (HBT) is an experimental method used in scientific research to measure anxiety, stress, neophilia and emotionality in animals. Because of its ability to measure multiple behaviors it is a popular test in behavioral pharmacology, but the results are controversial. Concept The HBT was designed in the 1970s to mitigate the flaws of the open field test (OFT), another animal model that measures anxiety and exploratory behavior. Exploratory behavior requires a choice to be made to explore, but since the OFT is just simply a brightly lit area, the animal doesn’t have a choice. The OFT also doesn’t differentiate between locomotion and exploration. The HBT apparatus is an area with walls around it to prevent escape. The floor of the area is covered with holes. Over the years the HBT apparatus has become more complex. Modern devices are now monitored by computer and have infrared beams. The three common activities are head dipping, rearing, and locomotion. Head d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Long-term Potentiation
In neuroscience, long-term potentiation (LTP) is a persistent strengthening of synapses based on recent patterns of activity. These are patterns of synaptic activity that produce a long-lasting increase in signal transmission between two neurons. The opposite of LTP is long-term depression, which produces a long-lasting decrease in synaptic strength. It is one of several phenomena underlying synaptic plasticity, the ability of chemical synapses to change their strength. As memories are thought to be encoded by modification of synaptic strength, LTP is widely considered one of the major cellular mechanisms that underlies learning and memory. LTP was discovered in the rabbit hippocampus by Terje Lømo in 1966 and has remained a popular subject of research since. Many modern LTP studies seek to better understand its basic biology, while others aim to draw a causal link between LTP and behavioral learning. Still, others try to develop methods, pharmacologic or otherwise, of enhanc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
