This research was supported by the Israel Science Foundation (grant No. 738/11), by the National Institute for Psychobiology in Israel (NIPI-7-2011-12), and by the Open University Foundation

REMARQUE: Tous les protocoles expérimentaux ont été approuvées par le Comité international pour les soins et l&#39;utilisation des animaux en Israël. Tous les efforts ont été faits pour réduire le nombre d&#39;animaux utilisés et leur souffrance. 1. Préparation pour le test de natation forcée <ol><li> Utilisez deux chambres adjacentes. Utilisez une pièce comme une «salle d&#39;attente» pour tenir les animaux avant tests de comportement, et l&#39;autre pour la réalisation de la procédure. </li><li> Préparer des récipients cylindriques en verre transparentes (la seule restriction pour le nombre de conteneurs est l&#39;espace disponible) mesurant 50 cm de hauteur et un diamètre de 20 cm. NOTE: Il est possible d&#39;exécuter simultanément plusieurs animaux dans la même pièce. Si oui, séparer les conteneurs d&#39;un autre à l&#39;aide d&#39;un écran noir pour que les animaux ne verront pas l&#39;autre durant la procédure. </li><li> Préparer caméra (s) vidéo devant des récipients de sorte que chaque caméra perçoit un ou plusieurs récipients de manière à wpermettre aux malades l&#39;observation claire du comportement des animaux plus tard tout en regardant les images. </li><li> Préparer cages de séchage propres, des lampes chauffantes et coussins chauffants pour les animaux qui ont terminé la procédure pour éviter l&#39;hypothermie. Assurez-vous que le fond de la cage a un papier buvard et le changer quand il est mouillé. Ne placez pas les cages dans la salle d&#39;examen. NOTE: Assurez-vous de ne pas mélanger des animaux de différentes cages à domicile alors qu&#39;ils restent dans les cages de séchage transitoires. </li></ol> 2. manipulation des animaux avant examen <ol><li> Animaux Maison dans une chambre avec un cycle de 12 heures de lumière / obscurité. </li><li> Pendant les jours de la procédure expérimentale donner les animaux l&#39;accès libre à la nourriture et de l&#39;eau, à l&#39;exception du temps spécifique passé dans la salle de la procédure. </li><li> Lors de l&#39;utilisation des rats, la manipulation des animaux pendant environ 2 minutes par jour, 5 jours avant le début de la procédure expérimentale. </li></ol> 3. Procédure de formation LeOn procède différemment pour les rats et les souris. NOTE: Pour les souris et les rats, observer les animaux pendant qu&#39;ils sont dans l&#39;eau en tout temps. Dans le cas d&#39;un animal apparaît dans la détresse grave (par exemple très fatigué, ne peut pas rester float) enlever l&#39;animal de l&#39;eau et de l&#39;exclure de l&#39;expérience. <ol><li> Pour les souris - Il ya une session de 6 minutes de long, divisé en pré-test (les 2 premières minutes) et test (le 4 dernières minutes). <ol><li> Pour que les souris de se acclimater à l&#39;environnement de test, le transport des animaux dans leur cage d&#39;origine au moins 30 min avant l&#39;essai de comportement à la salle d&#39;attente. </li><li> Remplir les cylindres avec de l&#39;eau du robinet à 25 ° C et régler la profondeur de l&#39;eau selon la &#39;taille de la souris, de sorte qu&#39;il ne peut pas toucher le fond du récipient avec ses pattes de derrière. </li><li> Marquez le cylindre avec le nombre d&#39;animaux dans le but de l&#39;identification de l&#39;animal plus tard tout en regardant les images. </li><li>Allumer le caméscope / s et ensuite placer chaque souris dans le conteneur de cylindre rempli d&#39;eau pendant 6 minutes. </li><li> Après six minutes se sont écoulées, éteignez l&#39;appareil photo / s, retirez la souris du récipient et le placer dans la cage de séchage transitoire avec la lampe de chaleur au-dessus et le pad de chaleur en dessous. La souris doit être étroitement surveillée en permanence et tout en récupérant dans cette cage. A cet effet, il est possible de placer un thermomètre au niveau des souris pour se assurer que la température dans la cage ne dépasse pas 37 ° C. Aussi, placer la cage de telle sorte que tombe pas tous sous la lampe ou sur le pavé; cela permet à la souris pour déplacer à un endroit plus frais, si désiré. </li><li> Changez l&#39;eau après chaque session pour éviter toute influence sur la prochaine souris. </li></ol></li><li> Pour les rats - Il ya deux sessions, 24 heures d&#39;intervalle. La première session est la phase de pré-test (15 min) et la deuxième session est l&#39;étape de test (5 min). <ol><li> Pour que les rats se acclimater à laenvironnement d&#39;essai, le transport des animaux dans leurs cages au moins 30 minutes avant l&#39;essai de comportement à la salle d&#39;attente. </li><li> Remplir les cylindres avec de l&#39;eau du robinet à 23 ± 1 ° C et régler la profondeur de l&#39;eau selon la taille du rat, de sorte qu&#39;il ne peut pas toucher le fond du récipient avec ses pattes de derrière. </li><li> Marquez le cylindre avec le nombre d&#39;animaux dans le but de l&#39;identification de l&#39;animal plus tard tout en regardant les images. </li><li> Placer chaque rat dans le conteneur de cylindre rempli d&#39;eau pendant 15 min. </li><li> Après 15 minutes se sont écoulées retirer le rat à partir du récipient et le placer dans la cage de séchage transitoire avec la lampe de la chaleur au-dessus et le tampon de chaleur en dessous. Le rat doit être étroitement surveillée en permanence et tout en récupérant dans cette cage. A cet effet, il est possible de placer un thermomètre au niveau du rat pour se assurer que la température dans la cage ne dépasse pas 37 ° C. Aussi, placer la cage de telle sorte que pas tous, il falls sous la lampe ou sur le pavé; ce qui permet au rat pour se déplacer à un endroit plus frais, si désiré. </li><li> Changez l&#39;eau après chaque session pour éviter toute influence sur le prochain rat. NOTE: Ce est la fin de la phase pré-test. </li><li> Vingt-quatre heures plus tard, pour que les rats se acclimater à l&#39;environnement de test, le transport des animaux dans leur cage d&#39;origine au moins 30 min avant l&#39;essai de comportement à la salle d&#39;attente. </li><li> Remplir les cylindres avec de l&#39;eau du robinet à 23 ± 1 ° C et régler la profondeur de l&#39;eau selon la taille du rat, de sorte qu&#39;il ne peut pas toucher le fond du récipient avec ses pattes de derrière. </li><li> Marquez le cylindre avec le nombre d&#39;animaux dans le but de l&#39;identification de l&#39;animal plus tard tout en regardant les images. </li><li> Tournez sur la caméra vidéo / s, puis placez le rat dans le conteneur de cylindre rempli d&#39;eau pendant 5 min. Assurez-vous que chaque rat est testé dans le même conteneur et la position dans la salle que le jour précédent. </li&gt; <li> Après 5 min se sont écoulés allumer l&#39;appareil photo / s, retirez le rat du récipient et le placer dans la cage de séchage transitoire avec la lampe de chaleur au-dessus et le pad de chaleur en dessous. Le rat doit être étroitement surveillée en permanence et tout en récupérant dans cette cage. A cet effet, il est possible de placer un thermomètre au niveau du rat pour se assurer que la température dans la cage ne dépasse pas 37 ° C. Aussi, placer la cage de telle sorte que tombe pas tous sous la lampe ou sur le pavé; ce qui permet au rat pour se déplacer à un endroit plus frais, si désiré. </li><li> Changez l&#39;eau après chaque session pour éviter toute influence sur le prochain rat. NOTE: Ce est la fin de la phase de test. </li></ol></li></ol> 4. Le codage comportemental Pour les souris, coder le 4 dernières minutes défini comme la phase de test. Pour les rats, coder le 5 min de la phase de test. <ol><li> Code de la durée du temps passé comme «Immobile» si la souris est flottantavec l&#39;absence de tout mouvement à l&#39;exception de celles qui sont nécessaires pour maintenir le nez au-dessus de l&#39;eau. </li><li> Code de la durée du temps passé comme «Luttant / escalade&quot; si les mouvements rapides des membres antérieurs sont observés tels que les pattes avant briser la surface de l&#39;eau. </li><li> Code de la durée du temps passé comme &quot;piscine&quot; Si le mouvement des membres antérieurs ou postérieurs membres d&#39;une manière pataugeoire est observée. NOTE: Il est possible d&#39;utiliser un autre moyen de coder ces comportements, ce qui inclut une méthode de temps à l&#39;échantillonnage. Évaluez la piscine, luttant ou d&#39;immobilité que la fréquence des épisodes à intervalles de 5 secondes tout au long de la session de test. </li></ol>

The authors have nothing to disclose.

Le TSF est utilisé pour surveiller le comportement dépressif-like et est basé sur l&#39;hypothèse que l&#39;immobilité reflète une mesure de désespoir comportemental 3. Les principaux avantages de ce procédé réside dans son fonctionnement relativement simple et des résultats rapides. En outre, sa sensibilité à un large éventail de médicaments antidépresseurs qui en fait un test de dépistage approprié est l&#39;une des caractéristiques les plus importantes menant à sa validité prédictive ...

La dépression est un trouble psychiatrique vie en danger et un problème majeur de santé publique dans le monde entier avec une incidence de 5% et une prévalence de durée de vie de 15 à 20%. En outre, il est estimé que d&#39;ici 2020, la dépression sera dans les trois principaux contributeurs à la charge de morbidité de 1,2. La dépression est associée à une invalidité, une diminution de la qualité de vie, l&#39;augmentation des coûts liés à la santé et est considéré comme un facteur de risque principal pour de nombreuses maladies, y compris cardiovasculaires, métaboliques et les troubles neuropsychiatriques 3,4 .Current traitements pharmaco-thérapeutique ont une efficacité limitée et sont associées à de nombreux effets secondaires délétères 5,6. Par conséquent, une meilleure compréhension de la physiopathologie de cette maladie aux côtés avec le développement de traitements innovants et améliorés reste cruciale. Par conséquent, des modèles animaux sont essentiels pour faire avancer la recherche dans ce domaine. Il existe de nombreux modèles utilisés pour l&#39;étude de ce trouble (&lt;em&gt; par exemple test de préférence le saccharose, le test de suspension caudale) avec le test de natation forcée (FST, également connu comme le test de Porsolt après le développeur de ce modèle 7,8) étant l&#39;un des tests les plus couramment utilisés 7,9-12. Au cours de la FST un animal est placé dans un récipient rempli d&#39;eau à partir de laquelle il ne peut échapper. L&#39;animal va d&#39;abord essayer de se échapper mais finira par présenter l&#39;immobilité (c.-à-flottant avec l&#39;absence de tout mouvement à l&#39;exception de celles qui sont nécessaires pour garder le nez hors de l&#39;eau). Le Tribunal est un modèle très populaire dans la recherche animale pour un certain nombre de raisons. Tout d&#39;abord, il implique l&#39;exposition des animaux à un stress, qui a été montré comme ayant un rôle dans la tendance de la dépression majeure 12-14. De plus la dépression est souvent perçue comme un manque de capacité à gérer le stress 15-17. Deuxièmement, le traitement pharmacologique des antidépresseurs avant le test a été montré pour réduire l&#39;immobilité dans la FST &lt;sup&gt; 18-23. Par conséquent, il est souvent utilisé comme un test de criblage pour des composés nouveaux ayant des propriétés antidépressives potentiels 15-17,24. Anhédonie 15-17,24 En outre, le TSF a été montré à part quelques-uns des facteurs qui sont influencés ou modifiés par la dépression chez l&#39;homme, tels que les changements dans la consommation alimentaire, troubles du sommeil et la drogue retrait induite. Ce est aussi la raison pour laquelle ce test est parfois utilisé pour évaluer le comportement dépressif comme chez les souris mutantes, avec une augmentation ou une diminution de l&#39;immobilité de base (par rapport à des souris «de type sauvage») 25,26.

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			<td>Dell</td>
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			<td>Biobserve</td>
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the forced swim test as a model of depressive-like behavior

The goal of the present protocol is to describe the forced swim test (FST), which is one of the most commonly used assays for the study of depressive-like behavior in rodents. The FST is based on the assumption that when placing an animal in a container filled with water, it will first make efforts to escape but eventually will exhibit immobility that may be considered to reflect a measure of behavioral despair. This test has been extensively used because it involves the exposure of the animals to stress, which was shown to have a role in the tendency for major depression. Additionally, the FST has been shown to share some of the factors that are influenced or altered by depression in humans, including changes in food consumption, sleep abnormalities and drug-withdrawal-induced anhedonia. The main advantages of this procedure are that it is relatively easy to perform and that its results are easily and quickly analyzed. Moreover, its sensitivity to a broad range of antidepressant drugs that makes it a suitable screening test is one of the most important features leading to its high predictive validity. Despite its appeal, this model has a number of disadvantages. First, the issue of chronic augmentation is problematic in this test because in real life patients need to be treated for at least several weeks before they experience any relief from their symptoms. Last, due to the aversiveness of the FST, it is important to take into account possible influences it might have on brain structure/function if brain analyses are to be carried out following this procedure.

Les résultats suivants sont fondés sur des données non publiées de notre laboratoire. Dans cette expérience, les souris femelles adultes ICR ont été testés après trois semaines de traitement avec l&#39;inhibiteur de la recapture de la sérotonine (ISRS) escitalopram ou nouveau traitement anti-dépressive et anti-anxiété à base de plantes (NHT) (pour plus d&#39;informations concernant le traitement à base de plantes, voir 12 , 27,28). L&#39;analyse de variance a révélé que le traitement réduit...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about The Forced Swim Test as a Model of Depressive-like Behavior at JoVE.com

The Forced Swim Test as a Model of Depressive-like Behavior

This protocol describes the forced swim test, which is used for the study of depressive-like behavior in rodents. This procedure involves placing an animal in a container filled with water that eventually will lead to the exhibition of immobility behavior, which is considered to reflect behavioral despair.

Le test de natation forcée comme un modèle de type dépressif Comportement

The goal of the present protocol is to describe the forced swim test (FST), which is one of the most commonly used assays for the study of depressive-like ...

the-forced-swim-test-as-a-model-of-depressive-like-behavior

Research

JoVE Journal

Behavior

36.5K vues.  Tel-Aviv University. This protocol describes the forced swim test, which is used for the study of depressive-like behavior in rodents. This procedure involves placing an animal in a container filled with water that eventually will lead to the exhibition of immobility behavior, which is considered to reflect behavioral despair.

Vidéo: The Forced Swim Test as a Model of Depressive-like Behavior

The Resident-intruder Paradigm: A Standardized Test for Aggression, Violence and Social Stress

This video publication explains in detail the experimental protocol of the resident-intruder paradigm in rats. This test is a standardized method to measure offensive aggression and defensive behavior in a semi natural setting. The most important behavioral elements performed by the resident and the intruder are demonstrated in the video and illustrated using artistic drawings. The use of the resident intruder paradigm for acute and chronic social stress experiments is explained as well. Finally, some brief tests and criteria are presented to distinguish aggression from its more violent and pathological forms.

This video shows the resident-intruder paradigm in rats. This test is a standardized method to measure offensive aggression, defensive behavior and violence in a semi-natural setting. The use of the paradigm for social stress experiments is explained as well.

Le paradigme résident-intrus: un test standardisé pour agression, violence et le stress social

This video publication explains in detail the experimental protocol of the resident-intruder paradigm in rats. This test is a standardized method to ...

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Sciences du comportement

Assessment of Murine Exercise Endurance Without the Use of a Shock Grid: An Alternative to Forced Exercise

Using laboratory mouse models, the molecular pathways responsible for the metabolic benefits of endurance exercise are beginning to be defined. The most common method for assessing exercise endurance in mice utilizes forced running on a motorized treadmill equipped with a shock grid. Animals who quit running are pushed by the moving treadmill belt onto a grid that delivers an electric foot shock; to escape the negative stimulus, the mice return to running on the belt. However, avoidance behavior and psychological stress due to use of a shock apparatus can interfere with quantitation of running endurance, as well as confound measurements of postexercise serum hormone and cytokine levels. Here, we demonstrate and validate a refined method to measure running endurance in na&#239;ve C57BL/6 laboratory mice on a motorized treadmill without utilizing a shock grid. When mice are preacclimated to the treadmill, they run voluntarily with gait speeds specific to each mouse. Use of the shock grid is replaced by gentle encouragement by a human operator using a tongue depressor, coupled with sensitivity to the voluntary willingness to run on the part of the mouse. Clear endpoints for quantifying running time-to-exhaustion for each mouse are defined and reflected in behavioral signs of exhaustion such as splayed posture and labored breathing. This method is a humane refinement which also decreases the confounding effects of stress on experimental parameters.

A method to assess exercise endurance in laboratory mice without the use of a shock grid is demonstrated. This method is a humane refinement that can decrease the confounding effects of stress on experimental parameters.

Évaluation des murin exercice d&#39;endurance sans l&#39;utilisation d&#39;une grille de choc: une alternative à l&#39;exercice forcé

Using laboratory mouse models, the molecular pathways responsible for the metabolic benefits of endurance exercise are beginning to be defined. The most ...

The Use of the Puzzle Box as a Means of Assessing the Efficacy of Environmental Enrichment

Environmental enrichment can dramatically influence the development and function of neural circuits. Further, enrichment has been shown to successfully delay the onset of symptoms in models of Huntington&#8217;s disease 1-4, suggesting environmental factors can evoke a neuroprotective effect against the progressive, cellular level damage observed in neurodegenerative disorders. The ways in which an animal can be environmentally enriched, however, can vary considerably. Further, there is no straightforward manner in which the effects of environmental enrichment can be assessed: most methods require either fairly complicated behavioral paradigms and/or postmortem anatomical/physiological analyses. This protocol describes the use of a simple and inexpensive behavioral assay, the Puzzle Box 5-7 as a robust means of determining the efficacy of increased social, sensory and motor stimulation on mice compared to cohorts raised in standard laboratory conditions. This simple problem solving task takes advantage of a rodent&#8217;s innate desire to avoid open enclosures by seeking shelter. Cognitive ability is assessed by adding increasingly complex impediments to the shelter&#8217;s entrance. The time a given subject takes to successfully remove the obstructions and enter the shelter serves as the primary metric for task performance. This method could provide a reliable means of rapidly assessing the efficacy of different enrichment protocols on cognitive function, thus paving the way for systematically determining the role specific environmental factors play in delaying the onset of neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disease.

Environmental enrichment provides a potential protective effect against neurodegenerative disorders. Currently, however, there is no easy way of determining the efficacy of enrichment procedures. This protocol describes a simple &#8220;Puzzle Box&#8221; method for assessing an animal&#8217;s cognitive function, in order to reveal the effectiveness of environmental enrichment.

L&#39;utilisation de la boîte de Puzzle comme un moyen d&#39;évaluer l&#39;efficacité d&#39;enrichissement du milieu

Environmental enrichment can dramatically influence the development and function of neural circuits.  Further, enrichment has been shown to successfully ...

Signal Attenuation as a Rat Model of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

In the signal attenuation rat model of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), lever-pressing for food is followed by the presentation of a compound stimulus which serves as a feedback cue. This feedback is later attenuated by repeated presentations of the stimulus without food (without the rat emitting the lever-press response). In the next stage, lever-pressing is assessed under extinction conditions (i.e., no food is delivered). At this stage rats display two types of lever-presses, those that are followed by an attempt to collect a reward, and those that are not. The latter are the measure of compulsive-like behavior in the model. A control procedure in which rats do not experience the attenuation of the feedback cue serves to distinguish between the effects of signal attenuation and of extinction. The signal attenuation model is a highly validated model of OCD and differentiates between compulsive-like behaviors and behaviors that are repetitive but not compulsive. In addition the measures collected during the procedure eliminate alternative explanations for differences between the groups being tested, and are quantitative, unbiased and unaffected by inter-experimenter variability. The major disadvantages of this model are the costly equipment, the fact that it requires some technical know-how and the fact that it is time-consuming compared to other models of OCD (11 days). The model may be used for detecting the anti- or pro-compulsive effects of pharmacological and non-pharmacological manipulations and for studying the neural substrate of compulsive behavior.

The goal of the protocol described in this paper is to induce compulsive-like behavior in rats for the study of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). This behavior is precipitated by attenuating a signal indicating that a lever-press response was effective in producing food.

L&#39;atténuation du signal comme un modèle rat du trouble obsessionnel compulsif

In the signal attenuation rat model of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), lever-pressing for food is followed by the presentation of a compound stimulus ...

Paw-Dragging: a Novel, Sensitive Analysis of the Mouse Cylinder Test

The cylinder test is routinely used to predict focal ischemic damage to the forelimb motor cortex in rodents. When placed in the cylinder, rodents explore by rearing and touching the walls of the cylinder with their forelimb paws for postural support. Following ischemic injury to the forelimb sensorimotor cortex, rats rely more heavily on their unaffected forelimb paw for postural support resulting in fewer touches with their affected paw which is termed forelimb asymmetry. In contrast, focal ischemic damage in the mouse brain fails to result in comparable consistent deficits in forelimb asymmetry. While forelimb asymmetry deficits are infrequently observed, mice do demonstrate a novel behaviour post stroke termed &#8220;paw-dragging&#8221;. Paw-dragging is the tendency for a mouse to drag its affected paw along the cylinder wall rather than directly push off from the wall when dismounting from a rear to a four-legged stance. We have previously demonstrated that paw-dragging behaviour is highly sensitive to small cortical ischemic injuries to the forelimb motor cortex. Here we provide a detailed protocol for paw-dragging analysis. We define what a paw-drag is and demonstrate how to quantify paw-dragging behaviour. The cylinder test is a simple and inexpensive test to administer and does not require pre-training or food deprivation strategies. In using paw-dragging analysis with the cylinder test, it fills a niche for predicting cortical ischemic injuries such as photothrombosis and Endothelin-1 (ET-1)-induced ischemia &#8211; two models that are ever-increasing in popularity and produce smaller focal injuries than middle cerebral artery occlusion. Finally, measuring paw-dragging behaviour in the cylinder test will allow studies of functional recovery after cortical injury using a wide cohort of transgenic mouse strains where previous forelimb asymmetry analysis has failed to detect consistent deficits.

Classical forelimb asymmetry analysis of the cylinder test is routinely used to assess behavioural deficits in rats following brain injury or stroke; however, it fails to detect consistent deficits in mice. This study demonstrates that quantifying paw-dragging behaviour is a more sensitive analysis of brain injury in mice.

Paw-glisser: un roman, une analyse sensible du cylindre Souris Test

The cylinder test is routinely used to predict focal ischemic damage to the forelimb motor cortex in rodents. When placed in the cylinder, rodents explore ...

The Social Dimension of Stress: Experimental Manipulations of Social Support and Social Identity in the Trier Social Stress Test

In many situations humans are influenced by the behavior of other people and their relationships with them. For example, in stressful situations supportive behavior of other people as well as positive social relationships can act as powerful resources to cope with stress. In order to study the interplay between these variables, this protocol describes two effective experimental manipulations of social relationships and supportive behavior in the laboratory. In the present article, these two manipulations are implemented in the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST)&#8212;a standard stress induction paradigm in which participants are subjected to a simulated job interview. More precisely, we propose (a) a manipulation of the relationship between different protagonists in the TSST by making a shared social identity salient and (b) a manipulation of the behavior of the TSST-selection committee, which acts either supportively or unsupportively. These two experimental manipulations are designed in a modular fashion and can be applied independently of each other but can also be combined. Moreover, these two manipulations can also be integrated into other stress protocols and into other standardized social interactions such as trust games, negotiation tasks, or other group tasks.

Previous research on the social dimension of stress has focused on two important variables: social identity and social support. This protocol introduces an effective experimental manipulation of these two social variables and describes their implementation in a standard stress induction paradigm (Trier Social Stress Test).

La dimension sociale du stress: Manipulations expérimentales de soutien social et l&#39;identité sociale dans le Trier Social Stress Test

In many situations humans are influenced by the behavior of other people and their relationships with them. For example, in stressful situations ...

The 4 Mountains Test: A Short Test of Spatial Memory with High Sensitivity for the Diagnosis of Pre-dementia Alzheimer's Disease

This protocol describes the administration of the 4 Mountains Test (4MT), a short test of spatial memory, in which memory for the topographical layout of four mountains within a computer-generated landscape is tested using a delayed match-to-sample paradigm. Allocentric spatial memory is assessed by altering the viewpoint, colors and textures between the initially presented and target images.
Allocentric spatial memory is a key function of the hippocampus, one of the earliest brain regions to be affected in Alzheimer&#39;s disease (AD) and impairment of hippocampal function predates the onset of dementia. It was hypothesized that performance on the 4MT would aid the diagnosis of predementia AD, which manifests clinically as Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI).
The 4MT was applied to patients with MCI, stratified further based on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) AD biomarker status (10 MCI biomarker positive, 9 MCI biomarker negative), and with mild AD dementia, as well as healthy controls. Comparator tests included tests of episodic memory and attention widely accepted as sensitive measures of early AD. Behavioral data were correlated with quantitative MRI measures of the hippocampus, precuneus and posterior cingulate gyrus.
4MT scores were significantly different between the two MCI groups (p = 0.001), with a test score of &#8804;8/15 associated with 100% sensitivity and 78% specificity for the classification of MCI with positive AD biomarkers, i.e., predementia AD. 4MT test scores correlated with hippocampal volume (r = 0.42) and cortical thickness of the precuneus (r = 0.55).
In conclusion, the 4MT is effective in identifying the early stages of AD. The short duration, easy application and scoring, and favorable psychometric properties of the 4MT fulfil the need for a simple but accurate diagnostic test for predementia AD.

The 4 Mountains Test: A Short Test of Spatial Memory with High Sensitivity for the Diagnosis of Pre-dementia Alzheimer&#039;s Disease

This article describes the 4 Mountains Test (4MT), a hippocampus-dependent test of working allocentric spatial memory. The hippocampus is affected early in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and this article outlines the 4MT methodology and results of patient testing, which demonstrates the value of the 4MT in the diagnosis of pre-dementia AD.

Le 4 Montagnes Test: Un test court de la mémoire spatiale avec la haute sensibilité pour le diagnostic de pré-démence Maladie d&#39;Alzheimer

This protocol describes the administration of the 4 Mountains Test (4MT), a short test of spatial memory, in which memory for the topographical layout of ...

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.

Le Rongeur psychomoteur Vigilance Test (RPVT): une méthode d&#39;évaluation des performances neurocomportementales chez les rats et les souris

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

A Method to Test the Effect of Environmental Cues on Mating Behavior in Drosophila melanogaster

An individual's sexual drive is influenced by genotype, experience and environmental conditions. How these factors interact to modulate sexual behaviors remains poorly understood. In Drosophila melanogaster, environmental cues, such as food availability, affect mating activity offering a tractable system to investigate the mechanisms modulating sexual behavior. In D. melanogaster, environmental cues are often sensed via the chemosensory gustatory and olfactory systems. Here, we present a method to test the effect of environmental chemical cues on mating behavior. The assay consists of a small mating arena containing food medium and a mating couple. The mating frequency for each couple is continuously monitored for 24 h. Here we present the applicability of this assay to test environmental compounds from an external source through a pressurized air system as well as manipulation of the environmental components directly in the mating arena. The use of a pressurized air system is especially useful to test the effect of very volatile compounds, while manipulating components directly in the mating arena can be of value to ascertain a compound's presence. This assay can be adapted to answer questions about the influence of genetic and environmental cues on mating behavior and fecundity as well as other male and female reproductive behaviors.

A Method to Test the Effect of Environmental Cues on Mating Behavior in Drosophila melanogaster

We demonstrate an assay to analyze the environmental and genetic cues that influence mating behavior in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster.

Une méthode pour tester l&#39;effet des cotes environnementales sur le comportement d&#39;accouplement dans<em&gt; Drosophila melanogaster</em

An individual's sexual drive is influenced by genotype, experience and environmental conditions. How these factors interact to modulate sexual behaviors ...

A Two-interval Forced-choice Task for Multisensory Comparisons

We provide a procedure for a psychophysics experiment in humans based on a previously described paradigm aimed to characterize the perceptual duration of intervals within the range of milliseconds of visual, acoustic, and audiovisual aperiodic trains of six pulses. In this task, each of the trials consists of two consecutive intramodal intervals where the participants press the upward arrow key to report that the second stimulus lasted longer than the reference, or the downward arrow key to indicate otherwise. The analysis of the behavior results in psychometric functions of the probability of estimating the comparison stimulus to be longer than the reference, as a function of the comparison intervals. In conclusion, we advance a way of implementing standard programming software to create visual, acoustic, and audiovisual stimuli, and to generate a two-interval forced-choice (2IFC) task by delivering stimuli through noise-blocking headphones and a computer&#39;s monitor.

Psychophysics is essential for studying perception phenomena through sensory information. Here we present a protocol to perform a two-interval forced-choice task as implemented in a previous report on human psychophysics where participants estimated the duration of visual, auditory, or audiovisual intervals of aperiodic trains of pulses.

Une tâche de choix forcé deux-intervalle pour les comparaisons multisensorielles

We provide a procedure for a psychophysics experiment in humans based on a previously described paradigm aimed to characterize the perceptual duration of ...