Anatomy and Behavior
Maximum Volume of Oxygen (VO2) Testing in Rodents
February 8, 2023
Maximum volume of oxygen (VO2max) is a measure of the maximum amount of oxygen that an individual can consume during exercise. VO2max is expressed in…

Rodent Metabolism and Measurable Metabolic Parameters
December 13, 2022
Metabolism is the sum of chemical reactions involved in sustaining the life of organisms.[1] It constantly provides your body with the energy to perform…

What is Operant Behavior and How to Study It
December 7, 2022
Operant behavior describes a type of voluntary goal-directed actions in animals based on the repercussions of previous occurrences. It develops when animals…

Microglial Physiology and Behavior
March 22, 2020
Since microglia do not have as clear-cut of a relationship with behavior as neurons do, understanding their role is a challenge as many factors need to be…
Have you ever wondered where behavior is located in the brain? Can behavior be localized to specific regions? It’s more complicated than a simple yes or no answer! Behavior is entangled in the brain. In many cases, different areas and regions of the brain affect a single behavior.
In this section, we will dive deep into the relationship between certain brain regions and observable behaviors. We will take a region of the brain and focus on everything that it does in terms of behavior, thinking, and cognition, as well as how testing is done.
For more resources related to anatomy and behavior, check out the following pages we curate:
- Maze Basics: Go through the different types of mazes used in behavioral research and learn how they are used for testing different aspects of rodent behavior.
- Complex Behaviors: Learn how more complex behaviors, one which involve high levels of cognition, are modeled in animals. Topics covered include: meditation, vacation, modeling adolescence in mice, modeling sleep deprivation, etc..
- Behavioral Questions: Browse through commonly encountered issues that researchers face during behavioral research. We answer questions neuroscientists may have on topics such as handling, animal care, housing, and more.
- Mouse Ethogram: A comprehensive resource that lists detailed information profiling all known mouse behaviors, including information on pharmaceutical studies, disease models, and different mouse strains that display the behavior in focus.
Maximum Volume of Oxygen (VO2) Testing in Rodents
February 8, 2023
Maximum volume of oxygen (VO2max) is a measure of the maximum amount of oxygen that an individual can consume during exercise. VO2max is expressed in…

Rodent Metabolism and Measurable Metabolic Parameters
December 13, 2022
Metabolism is the sum of chemical reactions involved in sustaining the life of organisms.[1] It constantly provides your body with the energy to perform…

What is Operant Behavior and How to Study It
December 7, 2022
Operant behavior describes a type of voluntary goal-directed actions in animals based on the repercussions of previous occurrences. It develops when animals…

Microglial Physiology and Behavior
March 22, 2020
Since microglia do not have as clear-cut of a relationship with behavior as neurons do, understanding their role is a challenge as many factors need to be…

Environmental Effects on Microglia and Behavior
March 22, 2020
Did you know that the environment can affect microglia? Although microglia protect the brain by providing the immune response, they can still be affected by…

Microglia Aging and Behavior
March 22, 2020
Aging doesn’t just mean wrinkles, it also means changes in microglia functioning. Because aging is associated with microglial dysfunction, ultimately affecting…

Microglia, Diseases, and Behavior
March 22, 2020
Although neurons have traditionally received most of the attention when it comes to understanding disease pathophysiology, a paradigm shift is occurring that…

Microglia, Inflammation, and Behavior
March 21, 2020
Since microglia are essentially in charge of CNS immunity, they are very likely to be involved in mechanisms where inflammation (an immune response) affects…

The Behavioral Researcher’s Guide to Microglia
March 21, 2020
Usually, in behavioral and brain sciences, the neurons play the lead character and get most of the attention. After all, neurons are the brain’s basic cell for…

Your Guide to Behavior and the Gut Microbiome
November 5, 2019
You are what you eat, right? Why? Well, this is a complicated science! One big factor is the gut microbiome. In this article, we will review: The structure of…

Motor Coordination & the Brain
September 3, 2019
Introduction Movement is essential to the survival of every living thing. In order to serve its purpose, this movement must be coordinated, i.e. the nervous…

The Role of the Striatum in Behavior
December 17, 2018
Introduction to the Striatum The striatum is a brain region within the basal ganglia comprised of three major components: the caudate, the putamen and the…