The animal is placed in the test chamber a second time and observed for reactions to the chamber alone or an altered test chamber accompanied by the tones. After being conditioned by pairing a neutral stimulus (a tone) to an aversive stimulus in a specific test environment it will associate the tone with the aversive stimulus. This test uses cued conditioning to evaluate amygdala function and contextual conditioning to evaluate function of the hippocampus, subiculum, cingulate, prefrontal and perirhinal cortices. The test provides a method for evaluating an animal’s entorhinal cortex, where grid cells integrate information from the hippocampus and the pre- and post-subiculum (where head direction cells are located).
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We record latency time to find the escape and errors of commission (entry into blind alleys). The test is conducted in complete darkness (monitored with an infrared light emitter and camera) to eliminate distal cues, thus testing the animal’s “sense of direction” or ability to navigate using route-based egocentric cues (i.e., internal cues).
![scoring active avoidance shuttle box any-maze scoring active avoidance shuttle box any-maze](https://media.springernature.com/lw685/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1186%2Fs12993-017-0126-3/MediaObjects/12993_2017_126_Fig1_HTML.gif)
This uses a labyrinthine maze with nine T-shaped cul-de-sacs branching from a central (but circuitous) channel leading from the start to the goal. We also have experience using a variety of other agents for this test. We typically test animals using indirect dopaminergic agonists, specific dopamine D1 and D2 agonists and antagonists, cholinergic-muscarinic antagonists and glutamatergic-NMDA receptor antagonists. Typically, the test involves familiarizing the test animal with a test chamber, and then observing changes to the animal’s behavior after it is injected with one of a variety of drug challenges. This test can be modified to fit a PI’s specific needs.
![scoring active avoidance shuttle box any-maze scoring active avoidance shuttle box any-maze](https://y9s5q4c4.stackpathcdn.com/maze/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/passive-avoidance.png)
We also test for pre-pulse inhibition (PPI), a well-established measure for testing sensorimotor gating. We use the San Diego Instruments SR Apparatus for these tests. The Acoustic (ASR) and Tactile Startle Response (TSR) are well-established tests for evaluating the complex brainstem-mediated reflex pathway.