Affective behavioral tests are designed to measure the internal emotional state of an animal.
While we cannot directly ask a mouse if they are feeling sad or anxious, cleverly designed behavioral tests capitalize on innate and predictable behaviors of rodents in order to indirectly observe their affective states.
Though many affective tests appear straightforward and easy to run, these tests rely on subtle, indirect behavioral observations, and therefore require a very clear understanding of their purpose, as well as any confounding variables that may impact the interpretation of the data. If you aren’t sure why you are choosing a specific test, or which one might be most appropriate for testing your hypothesis, ASK US!
- Aggression and Social Defeat
- Elevated Plus Maze
- Fear Conditioning (cued & contextual)
- Forced Swim Test
- Light-Dark Box
- Marble Burying
- Novelty Suppressed Feeding
- Open Field
- Passive Avoidance (Step-down)
- Social Interaction & Recognition
- Social Transmission of Food Preference
- Sucrose Preference Test
- Tail Suspension
- Ultrasonic Vocalization
See also:
- Conditioned place preference/aversion
- Pre-pulse inhibition
- Startle Response
- Taste Aversion