This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (U20A20118) and the Open Fund of the Hunan Engineering Research Center of the Ecological Environment Institute Monitoring and Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Technology in Dongting Lake (2023-DTH-04).

All animal experiments were approved by the Ethics Committee of the Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
1. Construction of rodent-proof wall
<ol>
	<li>Construction of wave-retaining wall
	<ol>
		<li>Build the wave-retaining wall 0.5 m higher than the embankment surface. Smooth the wall surface on the side of the lake with cement, and add a flat plate slightly wider than the wall to the top such that it extends 8 cm, similar to a tongue (Figure 1). This ensures that the rodents cannot climb the wall. 
		NOTE: The height of the wave-retaining wall and the width of the flat plate can be built according to different rodents.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>Digging a rodent-proof trench
	<ol>
		<li>When some wave-retaining walls have gaps leading to the beach, dig a rodent-proof trench at the gap. The ditch is 0.5 m deep and slightly wider than the gap of the wave-retaining wall.</li>
		<li>Fill soil or cover a thin cement board in the trench to facilitate the passage of pedestrians and vehicles. During the flood season, remove the thin cement board and clear the soil in the trench, thereby completely blocking the rodent&#39;s migration path (Figure 2).</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>Buried pots barrier method
	<ol>
		<li>First, erect fences along the dike.</li>
		<li>Compose the baffle plate of fiberboard, plastic film, and wood board and support it with timber piles.</li>
		<li>Bury the plate fence 5-10 cm into the soil at a height of 0.5 m. Bury the deep pots between the fixed fences at 50 m intervals.</li>
		<li>Ensure that the pots are 80 cm deep and 60 cm in diameter and buried in the soil immediately next to the baffle plate, with the mouth of the pots set flush to the ground (Figure 3).</li>
		<li>Rodents approach the dike, walk along the fences, and are channeled into the pots. Finally, dredge the pots and clean out the rodents.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
</ol>
2. Methods of efficiency statistics
<ol>
	<li>Snap-trap method
	<ol>
		<li>Use snap traps throughout the survey period using raw sunflower seeds as bait. Sample three to four plots of approximately 6-10 ha each along a line transect. Ensure that the distance between plots is &#62;150 m, and install between 80-100 traps in each plot, with one trap placed every 5 m.</li>
		<li>After the water rises in late spring and early summer annually, conduct a survey on the farmland of the corresponding survey lake.</li>
		<li>Lay traps along the ridge of the field at 5 m intervals, with &#62;200 traps laid in each area. Place traps in the afternoon and collect them the following morning. Then, count the captured rodents according to species.</li>
		<li>Calculate relative abundance, which is an indication of trap success, using the following equation: 
		<img alt="Equation 1" src="/files/ftp_upload/66596/66596eq01.jpg" style="margin: auto;" /> 
		Where A is the number of captured rodents, B is the effective number of traps, and C is the relative abundance of rodents.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>Crop damage statistics
	<ol>
		<li>Use crop damage statistics to control for the effects of rodents should crops be located on the opposite side of the lake beach dike16.
		<ol>
			<li>Sample the rice fields in the survey area randomly at the same time as the rodent relative abundance survey.</li>
			<li>Sample the selected fields according to a single five-point diagonal sampling method, with five sample squares collected from each field. Collect the rice seedlings (10 &#215; 10 plants) in each square sample.</li>
		</ol>
		</li>
		<li>Record the total number of seedlings and the number of seedlings broken by the rodents to determine the damage rate. Determine the effectiveness of rodent control by calculating the cost incurred by the rodent due to damage before and after rodent control.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>Bait consumption method
	<ol>
		<li>Place bait of the same size in the survey area, and after a certain period, calculate the bait consumption rate as an indicator of rodent density17.
		<ol>
			<li>If the bait used was rice, calculate bait consumption as weight (g). Simultaneously, control the natural decrease in water from the bait to correct bait consumption. If the bait is a large grain or block, such as sweet potatoes, observe and record the number of grains or blocks consumed.</li>
		</ol>
		</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>Excavation hole method
	<ol>
		<li>Block the original holes to reduce misjudgment of abandoned holes.</li>
		<li>Determine the effectiveness of rodent prevention with or without a rodent-proof wall by comparing the number of holes dug by rodents in farmlands. 
		NOTE: Plugging the hole should be carried out in a strict manner, preferably before the peak of rat activity, such as for house mice in the evening or ground squirrels in the early morning.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
</ol>
3. Statistical analysis
<ol>
	<li>Use appropriate data analysis software to analyze the data and determine the significance of each capture rate using the chi-square test (&#967;2), with statistical significance set at P &#60;0.05. 
	NOTE: SPSS was used to analyze the data. Other statistical software can also be used for statistical analysis, such as DPS.</li>
</ol>

Reducing Rodent Infestations in Agriculture with Rodent-Proof Constructions

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R. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Fertility+control+of+rodent+pests:+recent+developments+from+lab+to+field.">Fertility control of rodent pests: recent developments from lab to field.</a> Integr Zool. 17 (6), 960-963 (2022).</li><li>John, A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Rodent+outbreaks+and+rice+pre-harvest+losses+in+Southeast+Asia.">Rodent outbreaks and rice pre-harvest losses in Southeast Asia.</a> Food Sec. 6 (2), 249-260 (2014).</li><li>Tomass, Z., Shibru, S., Yonas, M., Leirs, H. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Farmers'+perspectives+of+rodent+damage+and+rodent+management+in+smallholder+maize+cropping+systems+of+Southern+Ethiopia.">Farmers' perspectives of rodent damage and rodent management in smallholder maize cropping systems of Southern Ethiopia.</a> Crop Prot. 136, 105232 (2020).</li><li>Imholt, C., Reil, D., Plasil, P., Rodiger, K., Jacob, J. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Long-term+population+patterns+of+rodents+and+associated+damage+in+German+forestry.">Long-term population patterns of rodents and associated damage in German forestry.</a> Pest Manag Sci. 73 (2), 332-340 (2017).</li><li>Liu, Y., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Effects+of+nitrogen+addition+and+mowing+on+rodent+damage+in+an+Inner+Mongolian+steppe.">Effects of nitrogen addition and mowing on rodent damage in an Inner Mongolian steppe.</a> Ecol Evol. 8 (8), 3919-3926 (2018).</li><li>Meerburg, B. G., Singleton, G. R., Kijlstra, A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Rodent-borne+diseases+and+their+risks+for+public+health.">Rodent-borne diseases and their risks for public health.</a> Crit Rev Microbiol. 35 (3), 221-270 (2009).</li><li>Wang, W. F., Yuan, W. K., Chen, Y. L., Wang, J. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Microplastics+in+surface+waters+of+Dongting+Lake+and+Hong,+China.">Microplastics in surface waters of Dongting Lake and Hong, China.</a> Sic Total Environ. 633, 539-545 (2018).</li><li>Zhu, L. L., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Effects+of+hydrological+environment+on+litter+carbon+input+into+the+surface+soil+organic+carbon+pool+in+the+Dongting+Lake+floodplain.">Effects of hydrological environment on litter carbon input into the surface soil organic carbon pool in the Dongting Lake floodplain.</a> Catena. 208, 105761 (2022).</li><li>Zhang, M. W., Li, B., Wang, Y. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Analysis+on+causes+of+population+outbreak+of+Microtus+fortis+in+Dongting+Lake+region+in+2007.">Analysis on causes of population outbreak of Microtus fortis in Dongting Lake region in 2007.</a> Research of Agricultural Modernization. 28 (5), 601-605 (2007).</li><li>Feng, L., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Distribution+pattern+and+diversity+of+rodent+communities+at+beach+and+lakeside+areas+in+the+Dongting+Lake+region.">Distribution pattern and diversity of rodent communities at beach and lakeside areas in the Dongting Lake region.</a> Acta Ecol Sin. 37 (17), 5771-5779 (2017).</li><li>Wang, Y., Guo, C., Zhang, M. W., LI, B., Chen, A. G. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Population+dynamics+of+Microtus+fortis+in+Dongting+Lake+region+and+its+forecasting.">Population dynamics of Microtus fortis in Dongting Lake region and its forecasting.</a> Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology. 15 (2), 308-312 (2004).</li><li>Chen, A. G., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Study+on+the+population+characteristics+and+disaster+causes+of+Microtus+fortis+in+the+Dongting+Lake+area.">Study on the population characteristics and disaster causes of Microtus fortis in the Dongting Lake area.</a> Research on the Biology of Chinese Veterinary Animals. , 31-38 (1995).</li><li>Chen, A. G., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Important+ecology+and+its+control+in+the+rice-growing+area+of+the+Yangtze+River+Basin+Countermeasures.">Important ecology and its control in the rice-growing area of the Yangtze River Basin Countermeasures.</a> Ecology of Agriculturally Important Rodents and Control Countermeasures. , 114-174 (1998).</li><li>Zhang, M. W., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=A+survey+on+effect+of+the+rodent-proof+wall+for+controlling+Microtus+fortis+in+Dongting+Lake+area.">A survey on effect of the rodent-proof wall for controlling Microtus fortis in Dongting Lake area.</a> Plant Protection. 39 (3), 167-172 (2013).</li><li>Wang, Y., Guo, C., Li, B., Wu, Z. J., Chen, A. G. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=A+study+on+the+multiple+control+criteria+of+pest+rodents+in+Dongting+Lake+rice+areas.">A study on the multiple control criteria of pest rodents in Dongting Lake rice areas.</a> Research of Agriculture Modernization. 18 (3), 58-60 (1997).</li><li>Wang, C. X., Pan, Z. A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Introduction+to+rodent+killing.">Introduction to rodent killing.</a> People's Health Publishing House. , 277-288 (1983).</li><li>Wang, Z., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Comparison+and+analysis+of+three+investigation+methods+applied+for+rodent+density+monitoring+at+grasslands.">Comparison and analysis of three investigation methods applied for rodent density monitoring at grasslands.</a> Chinese Journal of Hygienic Insecticides &amp; Equipments. 25 (3), 238-240 (2019).</li><li>Khan, A. A., Munir, S., Hussain, I. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Evaluation+of+in-burrow+baiting+technique+for+control+of+rodents+in+groundnut+crop.">Evaluation of in-burrow baiting technique for control of rodents in groundnut crop.</a> Pak J Zool. 44 (4), 1035-1039 (2012).</li></ol>

The authors have nothing to disclose.

There are several critical steps in the protocol. The width of the tongue-shaped flat plate of the rodent-proof wall should be sufficiently wide, and the height of the wall should be set such that rodents in the area cannot cross it. When wave-retaining walls have gaps leading to the beach, the depth of the rodent-proof trench should be set to a depth that rodents cannot climb, and the width of the ditch should be set to a distance that rodents cannot cross. The height of the baffle plate and pots in the buried-pot barri...

Rodent damage is an important biological disaster that causes extensive damage to all aspects of human production and life1,2. In agriculture, rodent infestation of farmland damages crops3; in forestry, rodents eat tree seedlings, roots, bark, and plant seeds, leading to delayed forest regeneration and tree death, which in turn affects forest greening and sand fixation4; and in grasslands, rodents eat roots and seeds, leading to degradation of grassland vegetation and increased sanding, which affects the development of the grassland livestock industry5. In addition, rodents are hosts for many viruses, bacteria, and parasites that can seriously endanger human health6.
Dongting Lake, located in the northeastern region of Hunan Province, is an important water storage and flood-regulating lake in China7. It has many ecological functions, such as flood regulation and detention, biodiversity protection, and water resource supply8,9. In recent decades, there have been many rodent outbreaks in the Dongting Lake area, especially an outbreak of the reed vole Microtus fortis in 2007, which caused enormous economic losses10. During the dry season, M. fortis grows and breeds on the lake beach in the Dongting Lake area. As the water level in Dongting Lake rises during the summer flood season, the habitat of M. fortis shrinks, forcing it to migrate into the embankment by swimming, crossing the flood control embankment, and reaching nearby farmlands, causing great harm to agricultural production11,12. Chen et al. proposed a control measure for building a rodent-proof wall to block the migration pathway of M. fortis, based on the wave-retaining wall method jointly created by Jinpen Farm and Nanda Town in Yuanjiang City, both of which are located in Yiyang City, Hunan Province13,14. In dikes without rodent-proof walls, large numbers of M. fortis can cause devastating damage to crops during and after migration. Dikes without rodent-proof walls are typically manually trapped and drugged to exterminate rodents during and after they enter the farmland. In the case of dikes with rodent-proof walls, many rodents remain outside the dikes during M. fortis outbreaks. Thus, many trapping and elimination operations are carried out outside dikes; generally, farmlands do not need to implement chemical drugs or artificial trapping. This approach can significantly reduce the density of vermin without causing serious harm to farmland crops. Conventional rodent drug prevention methods cannot achieve the expected effects, and there are hidden dangers associated with environmental pollution and human and animal safety15. Considering the characteristics that allow rodents to easily break out and cause disaster, the following protocol introduces three physical rodent control methods, including a permanent rodent-proof wall and two kinds of temporary walls, and presents four statistical methods to measure rodent control effect, providing a scientific basis for rodent control. Instead of the traditional poisonous bait, the rodent-proof wall effectively protects the environment and safeguards the health of humans and animals; thus, it is a more effective and environmentally friendly control method that should be advocated and vigorously promoted.

<table><tbody><tr><td>Snap traps</td><td>Guixi Mousing Tool Factory, Jiangxi, China</td><td>large-sized</td><td>150 mm &amp;times; 80 mm</td></tr><tr><td>SPSS</td><td>IBM</td><td>version 16.0&amp;nbsp;</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

rodent-proof wall: an efficient physical method for controlling rodents and its efficiency statistics

Rodent damage poses a significant threat to crops, human life, and health. Compared to chemical rodent control, such as placing poisonous baits, it is more economical and environmentally friendly to use physical methods, such as building a rodent-proof wall. This study introduces a method of physically controlling harmful rodents and four methods of calculating the effect of rodents control. To understand the controlling effect of the rodent-proof wall, an investigation was conducted on the Dongting Lake beach and corresponding farmland in the embankment in April and July 2012. Our findings illustrated that the density of the reed vole Microtus fortis in the farmland with rodent-proof walls was 0.52%, significantly lower than that in the farmland without rodent-proof walls (1.76%) after artificial trapping and drug extermination (&#967;2 = 3.900, P = 0.048). The density of M. fortis that had migrated into the farmland in dikes with a rodent-proof wall decreased by 98.53%, significantly higher than the decrease of density in dikes without a rodent-proof wall (86.61%) (&#967;2 = 11.060, P = 0.01). The results demonstrated the effectiveness of rodent-proof wall control. Therefore, building a rodent-proof wall should be advocated and vigorously promoted to prevent the migration of rodents into the Dongting Lake area and similar environments, as they cause harm.

To determine the control effect of the rodent-proof wall, surveys were conducted before and after the water rose in April and July 2012, respectively, on the lake beach and corresponding diked farmland15. The survey sites were located in the Dongting Lake area of Hunan Province, namely, the lake beach outside Matangyuan in Yueyang County (29&#176;14.5&#8242; N; 113&#176;03.2&#8242; E), Beizhouzi Town in Datong Lake District (29&#176;10.1&#8242; N; 112&#176;47.7&#8242; E), Shuangfeng Dike in Nanda ...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Author Spotlight: Impact of Physical Barriers on Rodent Populations in Farmland Areas at JoVE.com

Author Spotlight: Impact of Physical Barriers on Rodent Populations in Farmland Areas

Here, we introduce three methods for the physical control of pest rodents, four methods for counting their effectiveness against rodents, and the statistics of the effect of building a rodent-proof wall.

Rodent-Proof Wall: An Efficient Physical Method for Controlling Rodents and its Efficiency Statistics

Rodent damage poses a significant threat to crops, human life, and health. Compared to chemical rodent control, such as placing poisonous baits, it is ...

rodent-proof-wall-an-efficient-physical-method-for-controlling

Research

JoVE Journal

Biology

521 Views.  Chinese Academy of Sciences. Here, we introduce three methods for the physical control of pest rodents, four methods for counting their effectiveness against rodents, and the statistics of the effect of building a rodent-proof wall.

Video: Author Spotlight: Impact of Physical Barriers on Rodent Populations in Farmland Areas

Barnes Maze Testing Strategies with Small and Large Rodent Models

Spatial learning and memory of laboratory rodents is often assessed via navigational ability in mazes, most popular of which are the water and dry-land (Barnes) mazes. Improved performance over sessions or trials is thought to reflect learning and memory of the escape cage/platform location. Considered less stressful than water mazes, the Barnes maze is a relatively simple design of a circular platform top with several holes equally spaced around the perimeter edge. All but one of the holes are false-bottomed or blind-ending, while one leads to an escape cage. Mildly aversive stimuli (e.g.&#160;bright overhead lights) provide motivation to locate the escape cage. Latency to locate the escape cage can be measured during the session; however, additional endpoints typically require video recording. From those video recordings, use of automated tracking software can generate a variety of endpoints that are similar to those produced in water mazes (e.g.&#160;distance traveled, velocity/speed, time spent in the correct quadrant, time spent moving/resting, and confirmation of latency). Type of search strategy (i.e.&#160;random, serial, or direct) can be categorized as well. Barnes maze construction and testing methodologies can differ for small rodents, such as mice, and large rodents, such as rats. For example, while extra-maze cues are effective for rats, smaller wild rodents may require intra-maze cues with a visual barrier around the maze. Appropriate stimuli must be identified which motivate the rodent to locate the escape cage. Both Barnes and water mazes can be time consuming as 4-7 test trials are typically required to detect improved learning and memory performance (e.g.&#160;shorter latencies or path lengths to locate the escape platform or cage) and/or differences between experimental groups. Even so, the Barnes maze is a widely employed behavioral assessment measuring spatial navigational abilities and their potential disruption by genetic, neurobehavioral manipulations, or drug/ toxicant exposure.

The dry-land Barnes maze is widely used to measure spatial navigation ability in response to mildly aversive stimuli. Over consecutive days, performance (e.g.&#160;latency to locate escape cage) of control subjects improves, indicative of normal learning and memory. Differences between rats and mice necessitate apparatus and methodology changes that are detailed here.

Spatial learning and memory of laboratory rodents is often assessed via navigational ability in mazes, most popular of which are the water and dry-land ...

Behavior

Assessing Burrowing, Nest Construction, and Hoarding in Mice

Deterioration in the ability to perform "Activities of daily living" (ADL) is an early sign of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Preclinical behavioural screening of possible treatments for AD currently largely focuses on cognitive testing, which frequently demands expensive equipment and lots of experimenter time. However, human episodic memory (the most severely affected aspect of memory in AD) is different to rodent memory, which seems to be largely non-episodic. Therefore the present ways of screening for new AD treatments for AD in rodents are intrinsically unlikely to succeed. A new approach to preclinical screening would be to characterise the ADL of mice. Fortuitously, several such assays have recently been developed at Oxford, and here the three most sensitive and well-characterised are presented.
Burrowing was first developed in Oxford13. It evolved from a need to develop a mouse hoarding paradigm. Most published rodent hoarding paradigms required a distant food source to be linked to the home cage by a connecting passage. This would involve modifying the home cage as well as making a mouse-proof connecting passage and food source. So it was considered whether it would be possible to put the food source inside the cage. It was found that if a container was placed on the floor it was emptied by the next morning., The food pellets were, however, simply deposited in a heap at the container entrance, rather than placed in a discrete place away from the container, as might be expected if the mice were truly hoarding them. Close inspection showed that the mice were performing digging ("burrowing") movements, not carrying the pellets in their mouths to a selected place as they would if truly hoarding them.6



Food pellets are not an essential substrate for burrowing; mice will empty tubes filled with sand, gravel, even soiled bedding from their own cage. Moreover, they will empty a full tube even if an empty one is placed next to it8.



Several nesting protocols exist in the literature. The present Oxford one simplifies the procedure and has a well-defined scoring system for nest quality5. 



A hoarding paradigm was later developed in which the mice, rather than hoarding back to the real home cage, were adapted to living in the "home base" of a hoarding apparatus. This home base was connected to a tube made of wire mesh, the distal end of which contained the food source. This arrangement proved to yield good hoarding behaviour, as long as the mice were adapted to living in the "home base" during the day and only allowed to enter the hoarding tube at night.

Burrowing, nesting, and hoarding are species-typical activities that mice readily perform in the laboratory. This article describes how they can be easily and cheaply assessed. These protocols are extremely sensitive to mouse strain, brain lesions and diseases. Moreover they constitute &#x201C;environmental enrichment&#x201D; for the mice, and embody the &#x201C;Refinement&#x201D; aspect of the &#x201C;3 Rs&#x201D;18.

Deterioration in the ability to perform "Activities of daily living" (ADL) is an early sign of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Preclinical behavioural screening ...

Neuroscience

An Innovative Running Wheel-based Mechanism for Improved Rat Training Performance

This study presents an animal mobility system, equipped with a positioning running wheel (PRW), as a way to quantify the efficacy of an exercise activity for reducing the severity of the effects of the stroke&#160;in rats. This system provides more effective animal exercise training than commercially available systems such as treadmills and motorized running wheels (MRWs). In contrast to an MRW that can only achieve speeds below 20 m/min, rats are permitted to run at a stable speed of 30 m/min on a more spacious and high-density rubber running track supported by a 15 cm wide acrylic wheel with a diameter of 55 cm in this work. Using a predefined adaptive acceleration curve, the system not only reduces the operator error but also trains the rats to run persistently until a specified intensity is reached. As a way to evaluate the exercise effectiveness, real-time position of a rat is detected by four pairs of infrared sensors deployed on the running wheel. Once an adaptive acceleration curve is initiated using a microcontroller, the data obtained by the infrared sensors are automatically recorded and analyzed in a computer. For comparison purposes, 3 week training is conducted on rats using a treadmill, an MRW and a PRW. After surgically inducing middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAo), modified neurological severity scores (mNSS) and an inclined plane test were conducted to assess the neurological damages to the rats. PRW is experimentally validated as the most effective among such animal mobility systems. Furthermore, an exercise effectiveness measure, based on rat position analysis, showed that there is a high negative correlation between the effective exercise and the infarct volume, and can be employed to quantify a rat training in any type of brain damage reduction&#160;experiments.

This study presents an innovative running wheel-based animal mobility system to quantify an effective exercise activity in rats. A rat-friendly testbed is built, using a predefined adaptive acceleration curve, and a high correlation between the effective exercise rate and the infarct volume suggests the protocol&#39;s potential for stroke prevention experiments.

This study presents an animal mobility system, equipped with a positioning running wheel (PRW), as a way to quantify the efficacy of an exercise activity ...

The Rodent Psychomotor Vigilance Test (rPVT): A Method for Assessing Neurobehavioral Performance in Rats and Mice

The human Psychomotor Vigilance Test (PVT) is a widely used procedure for measuring changes in fatigue and sustained attention. The present article describes a rodent version of the PVT&#8212;termed the &#34;rPVT&#34;&#8212;that measures similar aspects of attention (i.e., performance accuracy, motor speed, premature responding, and lapses in attention). Data are presented that demonstrate both the short- and long-term usefulness of the rPVT when employed with laboratory rats. Rats easily learn the rPVT, and learning to perform the basic procedure takes less than two weeks of training. Once acquired, rat performances in the rPVT show a high degree of similarity to these same performance measures in the human PVT, including similarities in, lapses in attention, reaction times, vigilance decrements across session time (i.e., the human &#34;time-on-task&#34; effects), and the response-stimulus interval (RSI) effect described for humans. Thus the rPVT can be an extremely valuable tool for assessing the effects of a wide range of variables on sustained attention quite similar to human PVT performances, and thus can be useful for developing novel treatments for neurobehavioral dysfunctions.

The Rodent Psychomotor Vigilance Test rPVT: A Method for Assessing Neurobehavioral Performance in Rats and Mice

A rat version of the human Psychomotor Vigilance Test (PVT) is described that measures aspects of attention similar to those measured with the human PVT, including aspects of human vigilance such as performance accuracy, motor speed, premature responding, and lapses in attention.

The human Psychomotor Vigilance Test (PVT) is a widely used procedure for measuring changes in fatigue and sustained attention. The present article ...

An Automated T-maze Based Apparatus and Protocol for Analyzing Delay- and Effort-based Decision Making in  Free Moving Rodents

Many neurological and psychiatric patients demonstrate difficulties and/or deficits in decision making. Rodent models are helpful to produce a deeper understanding of the neurobiological causes underlying the decision-making problems. A cost-benefit based T-maze task is used for measuring decision making in which rodents choose between a high reward arm (HRA) and a low reward arm (LRA). There are two paradigms of the T-maze decision-making task, one in which the cost is a time delay and the other in which it is physical effort. Both paradigms require a tedious and labor-intensive management of experimental animals, multiple doors, pellet reward, and arm choice recordings. In the current work, we invented an apparatus based on traditional T-maze with full automation for pellet delivery, door management and choice recordings. This automated setup can be used for the evaluation of both delay- and effort-based decision making in rodents. With the protocol described here, our lab investigated the decision-making phenotypes of multiple genetically modified mice. In the representative data, we showed that the mice with ablated medial habenular showed aversions of both delay and effort and tended to choose the immediate and effortless reward. This protocol helps to decrease the variability caused by experimenter intervention and to enhance experiment efficiency. In addition, chronic silicon probe or microelectrode recording, fiber-optic imaging and/or manipulation of neural activity can be easily applied during the decision-making task using the setup described here.

This article introduces an automated T-maze apparatus that we invented, and a protocol based on this apparatus for analyzing delay-based decision making and effort-based decision making in free moving rodents.

Many neurological and psychiatric patients demonstrate difficulties and/or deficits in decision making. Rodent models are helpful to produce a deeper ...

Automated Rat Single-Pellet Reaching with 3-Dimensional Reconstruction of Paw and Digit Trajectories

Rodent skilled reaching is commonly used to study dexterous skills, but requires significant time and effort to implement the task and analyze the behavior. Several automated versions of skilled reaching have been developed recently. Here, we describe a version that automatically presents pellets to rats while recording high-definition video from multiple angles at high frame rates (300 fps). The paw and individual digits are tracked with DeepLabCut, a machine learning algorithm for markerless pose estimation. This system can also be synchronized with physiological recordings, or be used to trigger physiologic interventions (e.g., electrical or optical stimulation).

Rodent skilled reaching is commonly used to study dexterous skills, but requires significant time and effort to implement the task and analyze the behavior. We describe an automated version of skilled reaching with motion tracking and three-dimensional reconstruction of reach trajectories.

Rodent skilled reaching is commonly used to study dexterous skills, but requires significant time and effort to implement the task and analyze the ...

A System for Tracking the Dynamics of Social Preference Behavior in Small Rodents

Exploring the neurobiological mechanisms of social behavior requires behavioral tests that can be applied to animal models in an unbiased and observer-independent manner. Since the beginning of the millennium, the three-chamber test has been widely used as a standard paradigm to evaluate sociability (social preference) and social novelty preference in small rodents. However, this test suffers from multiple limitations, including its dependence on spatial navigation and negligence of behavioral dynamics. Presented and validated here is a novel experimental system that offers an alternative to the three-chamber test, while also solving some of its caveats. The system requires a simple and affordable experimental apparatus and publicly available open-source analysis system, which automatically measures and analyzes multiple behavioral parameters at individual and population levels. It allows detailed analysis of the behavioral dynamics of small rodents during any social discrimination test. We demonstrate the efficiency of the system in analyzing the dynamics of social behavior during the social preference and social novelty preference tests as performed by adult male mice and rats. Moreover, we validate the ability of the system to reveal modified dynamics of social behavior in rodents following manipulations such as whisker trimming. Thus, the system allows for rigorous investigation of social behavior and dynamics in small rodent models and supports more accurate comparisons between strains, conditions, and treatments.

Described here is a novel automated experimental system that offers an alternative to the three-chamber test and also solves several caveats. This system supplies multiple behavioral parameters that enable rigorous analysis of small rodent behavioral dynamics during the social preference and social novelty preference tests.

Exploring the neurobiological mechanisms of social behavior requires behavioral tests that can be applied to animal models in an unbiased and ...

Utilizing a Reconfigurable Maze System to Enhance the Reproducibility of Spatial Navigation Tests in Rodents

Several maze shapes are used to test spatial navigation performance and behavioral phenotypes. Traditionally, each experiment requires a unique maze shape, thus requiring several separate mazes in different configurations. The maze geometry cannot be reconfigured in a single environment to accommodate scalability and reproducibility. The reconfigurable maze is a unique approach to address the limitations, allowing quick and flexible configurations of maze pathways in a repeatable manner. It consists of interlocking pathways and includes feeders, treadmills, movable walls, and shut-off sensors. The current protocol describes how the reconfigurable maze can replicate existing mazes, including the T-shaped, plus-shaped, W-shaped, and figure-eight mazes. Initially, the T-shaped maze was constructed inside a single experimental room, followed by modifications. The rapid and scalable protocol outlined herein demonstrates the flexibility of the reconfigurable maze, achieved through the addition of components and behavioral training phases in a stepwise manner. The reconfigurable maze systematically and precisely assesses the performance of multiple aspects of spatial navigation behavior.

The present protocol describes a reconfigurable maze, a unique system for testing spatial navigation and behavioral phenotypes in rodents. The adaptability of this maze system enables the execution of various experiments in a single physical environment. The ease of structural rearrangement generates reliable and reproducible experimental results.

Several maze shapes are used to test spatial navigation performance and behavioral phenotypes. Traditionally, each experiment requires a unique maze ...

Operant Protocols for Assessing the Cost-benefit Analysis During Reinforced Decision Making by Rodents

Reinforcement-guided decision making is the ability to choose between competing courses of action based on the relative value of the benefits and their consequences. This process is integral to the normal human behavior and has been shown to be disrupted by neurological and psychiatric disorders such as addiction, schizophrenia, and depression. Rodents have long been used to uncover the neurobiology of human cognition. To this end, several behavioral tasks have been developed; however, most are non-automated and are labor-intensive. The recent development of the open-source microcontroller has enabled researchers to automate operant-based tasks for assessing a variety of cognitive tasks, standardizing the stimulus presentation, improving the data recording and consequently, improving the research output. Here, we describe an automated delay-based reinforcement-guided decision-making task, using an operant T-maze controlled by custom-written software programs. Using these decision-making tasks, we show the changes in the local field potential activities in the anterior cingulate cortex of a rat whilst it performs a delay-based cost-and-benefit decision-making task.

A cost-benefit analysis is a weighing-scale approach that the brain performs during the course of decision making. Here, we propose a protocol to train rats on an operant-based decision-making paradigm where rats choose higher rewards at the expense of waiting for 15 s to receive them.

Reinforcement-guided decision making is the ability to choose between competing courses of action based on the relative value of the benefits and their ...

Using a 3D Printed Holder for Bulk Electroacupuncture in Small Animals

Bulk Electroacupuncture Operation for Mice or Young Rats

Electroacupuncture (EA) is widely used to treat various health conditions. However, the underlying mechanism of EA treatment remains unclear, hindering its promotion. The mechanistic study requires mouse or rat models to address this issue. However, these animals are not obedient to the experimental process, which is time-consuming. To solve these problems, we designed a 3D-printed small animal body bulk fixator to improve the efficiency of EA's animal experiments. This video shows in detail how to use the fixator to perform bulk EA on mice or young rats. For the selection of acupoints, the anterior oblique line of vertex temporal (MS6 head) and Tianshu point (ST25 belly) were chosen to verify the effect of the fixation device with prone positioning and supine positioning. Using the 3D-printed small animal holder allows multiple rodents to be immobilized and treated simultaneously, reducing the time and resources required for the experiment. This technique could be applied to other animal models by 3D printing different sizes and could potentially be used for various fixing conditions. The device is beneficial for the promotion of experimental scientific research in EA.

Author Spotlight: Using a 3D-Printed Holder for Simultaneous Multiple Electroacupuncture Operation

Here, we present a protocol for efficient and rapid electroacupuncture (EA) in mice or young rats using a three-dimensional (3D) printed holder. This technique allows simultaneous operation on multiple animals, saving time and increasing experimental efficiency.

Electroacupuncture (EA) is widely used to treat various health conditions. However, the underlying mechanism of EA treatment remains unclear, hindering ...