Director:
Kem Singletary
(225) 763-0924
Co-Director:
Chris Morrison
(225) 763-3145
Staff:
Jennifer Terrebonne
(225) 763-3121
Animal Metabolism &
Behavior Core
Pennington Biomedical
Research Center
6400 Perkins Road
Baton Rouge, LA 70808
Hours:
8am - 4pm M-F
Closed Holidays
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Learning, Memory, & Motivation
This learning and memory paradigm has been used for many years to evaluate spatial learning. In this task, the animal is required to learn the location of a hidden platform by utilizing the spatial cues in the environment. Dependent measures of learning include latency to reach the platform and distance traveled. At the end of acquisition, a probe trial is often implemented where the platform is removed and the animal is allowed to search. If learning has occurred then more time should be spent searching for the platform in the quadrant in which it was previously located.
This mouse version of the Stone T-maze was developed by Drs. Ingram and Pistell to measure learning and memory in mice. The task requires the mouse to learn the correct sequence of left and right turns to successfully move from the start box to the goal box. Taking advantage of the basic motivation of mice to escape to a dark, dry, and safe location, the original rat version of the Stone T-maze was scaled down. Several modifications were made to tax the mouse’s escape drive. The maze is located in a pan of water filled to a level where the mouse can remain in contact with the floor of the maze, while still maintaining its head above the water. A clear ceiling that covers the entire maze prevents the mouse from rearing out of the water. The floor of the goal box is elevated out of the water providing a dark and dry escape for the mouse. There are three stages associated with this task. Straight run training is implemented on Day 1 to familiarize the mice with the environment and install the contingency that moving forward will lead to escape into the goal box. On Day 2, the mice are administered acquisition training in the maze which consists of 15 trials. The dependent measures of learning consist of latency, number of errors committed, and distance traveled. 1 week following acquisition, the mice are returned to the maze and given 5 more trials to assess retention.
This deluxe package features an expanded PVC sound-attenuating cubicle, a standard modular test chamber with two retractable levers and both pellet and liquid reinforcement, in addition to the other components listed. The FR Training Procedure provided with the interface package uses convenient named variables to select the correct lever, the reward dispenser, reward time and time out, the FR value, and session time. It can also automatically create a time stamp file for the Soft Cumulative Record Utility.
Motivation can be measured using operant responding by incrementally increasing the number of lever presses required to obtain reinforcement. At some point each animal will reach its “breaking point” where the effort involved to obtain the reinforcement is greater than the reward provided by the reinforcement.
The learning and memory paradigm utilizes the natural drive of rodents to investigate novel objects in their environment. During training, the animal is exposed to a single novel object and allowed to explore and investigate. During testing, two objects are placed into the testing arena, one novel and the other the same as presented during training. In an animal with intact learning and recall, the novel object will be investigated for a longer duration than the one present during training.
Motivation
This task measures motivation by assessing a number of measures associated with the animal moving from a start box to a goal box to achieve a reward. The apparatus consists of a straight runway with a start box and goal box at the opposite ends. Both the goal box and start box have a door to restrict the animal in those locations. At the start of a trial the door is lifted on the start box, and the behavior of the animal is tracked as it makes its way to the goal box where it retrieves food reinforcement. Dependent measures of motivation include latency to reach the goal box, hesitations in the alley, and reversals in the alley. A more highly motivated animal will maintain forward movement without hesitating or turning around and heading back towards the start box.
To learn more about most of these tasks visit: med-associates
