Common Behavioral Experiment Questions
Should the animals be housed in groups or singly-housed before testing?
September 3, 2019
The housing of laboratory animals either alone or in groups has been a subject of discussion for many years, with publications detailing the effects of these…
Will the animal's age influence the test results?
June 28, 2019
Age is a significant deciding factor in many behavioral tests. In certain cases, behaviors that are present early in life may not be present later, while the…
What should the water temperature be (if water is used in the apparatus)?
June 24, 2019
Water-based behavioral tasks, like any environmentally specific experiment, are influenced by such factors as light and temperature. Given that experimental…
Are there sex differences in the test outcomes?
March 29, 2019
While much of the research in behavioral sciences has focused primarily, often exclusively, on male subjects, a recent renewed focus on sexually divergent…
Conducting behavioral neuroscience experiments is not a piece of cake (or, at least not always). It is way too easy to get overwhelmed and confused by all the necessary procedures, protocols, details, and equipment. It’s a lot of information to handle, sometimes even for us. So, we have put together a series of common questions and concerns, in order to help scientists carrying out behavioral experiments.
And by the way, we update this list frequently, so be sure to check back for new content.
If there's any question you'd like us to answer, contact us here
The Right Night Light: Optimizing Conditions for Behavioral Testing During the Dark Phase
September 25, 2017
Imagine someone woke you up in the middle of the night and asked you to take an exam, go for a drive in a new town, or meet a group of new colleagues. How do…
The Mouse Nose Knows: Cleaning The Behavioral Testing Apparatus
September 25, 2017
A common question asked by behavioral researchers is how to clean the testing apparatus in between subjects and at the conclusion of an experiment. Maybe you…
Can Different People Administer Behavioral Tests in a Single Experiment?
September 24, 2017
Behavioral testing can be incredibly time consuming, sometimes continuing for weeks at a time without a single day off. In this circumstance, it might be…
The Link Between Food and Mood: Are Behavioral Tests Sensitive to an Animal’s diet?
September 23, 2017
From stressing the importance of breakfast before class to encouraging the right intake of vitamins, we’ve all heard about how our diet can affect our mood,…
The Influence of Animal Age in Behavioral Testing
September 23, 2017
Age has a strong influence on our behavior. Just look around the next time you are at the grocery store: a toddler is flailing on the ground in a temper…