Long-term Devocalization of Zebra Finches
[Abstract] Songbirds, such as the zebra finch, are a popular animal model for studying the neural basis of vocal and complex skill learning. Adult male zebra finches produce courtship song toward females (referred to as ‘directed song’) and recording and analyzing sounds of directed song along with underlying neural activity is important for investigating ...
Measuring Breathing Patterns in Mice Using Whole-body Plethysmography
[Abstract] Respiratory dysfunction is among the main cause of severe and fatal pathologies worldwide. The use of effective experimental models and methodologies for the study of the pulmonary pathophysiology is necessary to prevent, control and cure these diseases. Plethysmography, a technique for the assessment of lung function, has been widely applied in ...
Multiple Simultaneous Acute Stresses in Mice: Single or Repeated Induction
Authors: Rachael E. Hokenson,
Mikko Oijala,
Annabel K. Short,
Jessica L. Bolton,
Yuncai Chen,
Jenny Molet,
Pamela M. Maras,
Tallie Z. Baram and
Gyorgy Lur,
date: 08/05/2020,
view: 780,
Q&A: 0
[Abstract] Stress is crucial to the survival of an organism, but excessive stress can lead to psychological disorders including depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and suicidality. The prevailing notion is that chronic stress promotes adverse outcomes on brain and body health, whereas acute stressors are generally benign. Notably, acute events such mass ...
Development of the Deoxycorticosterone Acetate (DOCA)-salt Hypertensive Rat Model
[Abstract] According to the World Health Organization (WHO), nearly 1.13 billion people worldwide have hypertension, a major factor responsible for premature death globally. The inherent multifactorial nature of hypertension makes its study difficult since the chronic rise in blood pressure depends on the intricate connection between dietary, genetic ...
The Discrete Paired-trial Variable-delay T-maze Task to Assess Working Memory in Mice
[Abstract] Working memory abnormalities involving the prefrontal cortex (PFC) dramatically contribute to poor functional outcomes in patients with schizophrenia and still represent an unmet therapeutic need. Studies in rodents might provide essential tools to understand the mechanisms underlying PFC-dependent working memory dysfunctions, as well as precious ...
An Alternative Maze to Assess Novel Object Recognition in Mice
[Abstract] The novel object recognition (NOR) task is a behavioral test commonly used to evaluate episodic-like declarative memory and it relies on the innate tendency of rodents to explore novelty. Here we present a maze used to evaluate NOR memory in mice that reduces the time of the assay while improving reliability of the measurements by increasing the ...
Examining Cocaine Conditioning Place Preference in Mice
[Abstract] A key component of combating substance use disorders is understanding the neural mechanisms that support drug reward. Tasks such as self-administration assess the reinforcing properties of a drug using a learned behavior but require numerous training sessions and surgery. In comparison, the conditioned place preference (CPP) task assesses reward ...