Automated Home-Cage Testing
Testing animals in their cage can eliminate stress, allowing for longer testing periods. A variety of tests can be performed in the home cage, and no human intervention is needed in this environment. Home-cage testing also provides the advantage of continuous monitoring, especially in the dark when the subject is most active.
Cognitive Function and other corollary measures
Distance moved, Circadian activity, Velocity, Cognitive Flexibility, etc.
Radial Arm Water Maze
The Radial Arm Water Maze (RAWM) is a tool for evaluating learning and memory in research on neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, aging, and drug testing. This test blends features of the dry Radial Arm Maze with the fast-paced learning and aversive experience of the Morris Water Maze. In RAWM, rodents such as mice or rats start in a central area and explore multiple arms to find an escape platform. The animals must recall which arms they've already entered to avoid returning to ones that don't contain the platform.
Y-Maze
Elevated Plus Maze
Rotorod
The Rotor-Rod test evaluates motor learning and sensorimotor coordination in rodent models of CNS disorders. The subjects are placed on a revolving rod that either rotates continuously or accelerates steadily, and the point at which they fall without injury is recorded.
Catwalk
The catwalk assesses coordination and motor function in rodent models of CNS disorders. The subject is recorded from below as it walks across a glass platform.
Treadmill
The treadmill tests the effects of different intensity training on cognitive, mental and physical health. I generally used by scientists to assess recovery of locomotion and motor function and evaluate the effects drugs on motor function. The system is made up of adjustable belts and implements shocks to motivate the subject to continue running.
Novel Object Recognition
Barnes Maze
The Barnes maze measures spatial memory by requiring subjects to escape a maze. The maze is brightly lit, and the subject is expected to learn the position of a hole to escape.
Grip strength
The Grip Strength test is used to phenotype different transgenic mouse strains and assess the impact of nov chemical entities on motor function. The mouse’s tail is gently pulled as it is instinctively grasping a wire grid. Just before the mouse releases, grip strength is recorded. This test evaluates the effects of disease, drugs a toxins on muscular degeneration