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EthoVisionXT + the Open Field Test
January 14, 2016
Imagine you are dropped in the center of a wide open field. Would you explore the entire area? Or hunker down around the edges, fearing predators and other…
Studying Autism Behaviors in Animal Models
January 6, 2016
In this article we will discuss the various autism spectrum disorder (ASD) models used in behavioral neuroscience. We will also take a special look at the…
Alzheimer's Mouse Model
December 16, 2015
Several genes involved are implicated in Alzheimer’s Disease but the mechanism for the disease remains unclear, and is even variable between patients. As such,…
Ob/ob Mice
December 9, 2015
In the 1950s, Ingalls and colleagues discovered “some very plump young mice” in one of their mouse colonies. Obesity in mice is typically very rare, so the…
Water Associated Zero Maze for PTSD Modeling
November 19, 2015
The human response to trauma – even the same kind of trauma – is variable. Even a diagnosis of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, does not mean that each…
The Fragile X Mouse Model
November 12, 2015
Fragile X syndrome is a genetic disease, which is primarily characterized by cognitive impairments in learning and memory. The syndrome tends to affect males…
The Rotarod Test (For Mice)
November 5, 2015
Ask a neuroscientist what the rotarod test is useful for and the answer is likely to be straightforward: it’s a test of motor coordination. The rotarod test…
Safety in the Shadows: Using the Light/Dark Maze in Anxiety Research
October 14, 2015
Introduction As we’ve seen in previous studies, mice tend to avoid well-lit areas in favor of the dark. This predisposition is personified in the form of the…
Novel Object Recognition Tests: Objects in Maze may Seem Newer than they Appear
October 7, 2015
Introduction Memory tests have been used in psychological experiments since the beginning of it's birth as an experimental discipline. For human participants,…
Differences in Stress Response in the Morris Water Maze and the Barnes Maze
September 30, 2015
Last time on the Maze Engineers blog we covered sex differences in performance on the forced swim trial. Today’s special will also involve water-based tasks,…
