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The Research Methods of Biopsychology: Part II

The Research Methods of Biopsychology: Part II. Methods of Studying Behavior. Open Field Test.

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The Research Methods of Biopsychology: Part II

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  1. The Research Methods of Biopsychology: Part II Methods of Studying Behavior

  2. Open Field Test A measure of general activity. In automated versions infrared sensors or video tracking is used to obtain precise measures of activity. In older tests, a grid is drawn on the floor and the experimenter would score the number of grid crossings.

  3. Elevated Plus Maze Used mostly as a measure of anxiety. The time that an animal spends in the enclosed arm and open arms is recorded by hand (stopwatch) or video system. Anxious animals spend more time in the enclosed arms and less time on the open arms.

  4. Behavioral Phenotyping (What’s wrong with my mouse and what’s wrong with my rationale) • Using a battery of behavioral tests to assess multiple functions. • Comparison across different tasks are confounded because the tasks differ in many ways (motor, sensory, motivational etc.) – like comparing apples and oranges. • Functional behavioral phenotyping – hold everything constant across tasks except for the Independent Variable

  5. Radial Arm Maze Food pellets are placed at the end of each arm. In the win-shift task, animals have to remember which arms they have been to (using spatial cues) and avoid re-entering those arms (errors).

  6. Cued Win-Stay Task

  7. Conditioned Cue Preference Task Paired Unpaired Training Testing

  8. Hippocampal lesions impair spatial win-shift Amygdala lesions impair CCP Dorso-lateral striatal lesions impair cued win-stay

  9. The Morris water maze PubMed Search 2/25/05

  10. The Morris water maze PubMed Search 2/25/05 Search done today, 3/29/10 = 5,253 hits

  11. The Morris water maze

  12. The Morris water maze

  13. Place learning Trial 40 – Control rat

  14. Standard Water Maze Setup Start points 4 1 # Quadrant Top View (camera) L Zone A B C Target Annulus Non-target Annuli 3 2 Water level Side view Submerged platform

  15. Place learning (acquisition) Escapelatency – time (sec) to reach the platform Distance – length (cm) of swim path Heading angle – deviation (deg) from a direct path Cumulative distance – cumulative average deviation (proximity to the goal in cm) from a direct path Probe test – spatial memory (retention) Quadrant time – % time (sec) in each quadrant Distance – path length (cm) in each quadrant Annulus crossings – number of passes through target and non-target annuli (= or 2x surface area of platform) Proximity – average distance (cm) from target and non-target annuli Dependent Measures General performance measures Thigmotaxis – swimming near wall – % time (sec) in outer zone Swim speed – cm/sec

  16. Place Learning

  17. Probe test without platform (60 sec) 4 1 1 4 3 2 3 2

  18. 100 % Reinforcement 50 % Partial reinforcement All trials Odd trials Even trials

  19. Preference Score = Preference score T A C B Results: Gonzalez, Kolb & Whishaw, 2000 Acquisition Probe Test

  20. Results: Gonzalez, Kolb & Whishaw, 2000 Could it really be true? Does partial reinforcement alone really impair place learning in the Morris water maze? If so, then many of the 2,866 studies on PubMed may be confouded! This is a serious charge! One that deserves a closer look…

  21. The On-Demand Platform Partial reinforcement within a trial: The rat must stay in the target zone for 20 sec while the platform is retracted and unavailable. Then the platform is raised, allowing the rat to escape. Top View (camera) Side view Submerged platform raised Submerged platform retracted Buresova, Krekule, Zahalka & Bures (J Neurosci Meth, 1985; 15:63-72) Spooner, Thomson, Hall, Morris, & Salter (Learn Mem, 1994; 1:203-11)

  22. Results: Gonzalez, Kolb & Whishaw, 2000

  23. What would you do if you were the rat in the 50% group? 1) Go to the “place” and look for the platform. But what if it isn’t there? No sense looking forever. What’s the other way to get out? 2) Go to the wall and wait to be removed… But, does the rat really learn to do this? Let’s see…

  24. Summary: Behavioral Level 1. PR (across trials) impairs performance in the water maze because it reinforces two response tendencies. • If place contingencies are maintained then the standard water maze protocol is suitable for studying drug and brain lesion effects. • Important information can be obtained by a more detailed temporal assessment of behavior on probe tests.

  25. Systems level • The water maze is a hippocampal-dependent task. • But do other structures contribute to performance?

  26. Hippocampus Coronal section Level 28 of 73 Dorsal Hippocampus Formol-thionin stain Adapted from Swanson (1992) Swanson, L.W. (1992). Brain Maps:Structure of the Rat Brain. Amsterdam: Elsevier.

  27. Caudate-putamen complex Coronal section Level 14 of 73 Cresyl violet stain Adapted from Swanson (1992) Swanson, L.W. (1992). Brain Maps: Structure of the Rat Brain. Amsterdam: Elsevier.

  28. Caudate-putamen Fornix/fimbria Extent of damage from electrolytic lesions: Minimum – rising-right hatching Maximum – rising-left hatching Devan, Goad & Petri (Neurobiol Learn Mem; 1996, 66:305-23)

  29. Control CPu FF Devan, Goad & Petri (Neurobiol Learn Mem; 1996, 66:305-23)

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