PSYC 373Lab Report 8: Behavioral Neuroscience Methods
30 points
This week you learned about the methods used in behavioral neuroscience research, with
a special focus on behavioral tests and histology. This lab consists of two exercises. The
first exercise involves scoring videos from a novel object recognition test in rats. The
second exercise involves using an online mouse brain atlas to learn more about the
histological properties of a brain area you located during the dissections.
Please use a different color font when typing in your responses.
Exercise 1: Effects of Caffeine on Novel Object Recognition (14 pts.)
In this exercise, you will be scoring videos from a study examining the effects of caffeine
on novel object recognition (NOR). Rats were injected with 20 mg/kg caffeine
(experimental group) or saline (control group) 30 minutes prior to testing. All of the
videos are from Phase 2 of the test. The videos can be found by going to
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9QKVGYFg8KmgDkS_csXjs72-Fz5Far80.
(Videos courtesy of Andrea Tracy at Grinnell College)
1. Briefly explain how the novel object recognition test works. How is the “NOR
score” calculated for each animal? (5 pts.)
2. Go to the website above to access the NOR videos. Once there, you will score a
total of 3 videos. Your assigned videos depend on the first letter of your last name
as follows:
Last name starts with A: Watch Subject I Test 1, Test 2, Test 3
Last name starts with B or C: Watch Subject J Test 1, Test 2, Test 3
Last name starts with H: Watch Subject K Test 1, Test 2, Test 3
Last name starts with K: Watch Subject L Test 1, Test 2, Test 3
Last name starts with O: Watch Subject M Test 1, Test 2, Test 3
Last name starts with P or R: Watch Subject N Test 1, Test 2, Test 3
Last name starts with S: Watch Subject O Test 1, Test 2, Test 3
Last name starts with T or V: Watch Subject P Test 1, Test 2, Test 3
To score the videos, you need a stopwatch or timer (or the stopwatch app on your phone).
For each video, will record the cumulative time spent in “directed contact” with each
object (see definition below). Start the stopwatch when the rat is in directed contact with
the object. Stop the watch when the rat is not in directed contact. Be sure that the
stopwatch is cumulatively measuring the time. Do not reset or clear the stopwatch
until the end of each session.
If you have two stopwatches, you can keep one in each hand and use one to score
cumulative time spent exploring object 1 and the other to score cumulative time spent
exploring object 2. If you only have one stopwatch, you will need to watch each video
twice (score time spent exploring object 1, then time spent exploring object 2).
Fill in the table below with your scores. (6 pts.)
In the NOR task, a rat/mouse is considered to be in “directed contact” with an object
when its nose is within 1-2 cm of the object.
Subject
Name/Test #
Name of
Object 1
Name of
Object 2
Time Spent
Exploring
Object 1 (sec)
Time Spent
Exploring
Object 2 (sec)
Note: I am purposely not telling you which is the familiar object and which is the novel
object. This is so you can score the data in an unbiased manner. Once I have all your
numbers, I will aggregate the data and share it with you.
3. Describe your impression of scoring these videos. Was it easy to determine
whether the rat was in directed contact with an object? Were there any situations
in which you were unsure? What kinds of other behaviors did you notice the rats
engaging in during the test? (3 pts.)
Exercise 2: Exploring the Blue Brain Cell Atlas (14 pts.)
The Blue Brain Cell Atlas is an online resource that describes the number, types, and
positions of cells in all areas of the mouse brain. For this exercise, you will select and
explore one of the brain areas you located in the sheep brain dissections.
First, go to the Blue Brain Cell Atlas at https://bbp.epfl.ch/nexus/cell-atlas/?v=v2&std=1.
Once there you will see a reconstruction of a mouse brain and a list of brain regions from
which to choose.
In the search box at the top, type in the brain area you wish to explore. As you begin
typing, you will see various options that match your search. Select the first option that
includes the name of your chosen structure (For example, if you search “superior
colliculus”, select “superior colliculus, sensory related” from the menu).
1. The brain area you have searched for will now be highlighted in the mouse brain
reconstruction. The mouse brain is automatically shown in the sagittal view. Type
the name of your chosen brain area and take a screenshot of the mouse brain with
this area highlighted. (1 pt.)
2. The mouse brain can be rotated by clicking on the brain and dragging your
mouse around. Rotate the brain to the coronal (head on) view and take another
screenshot. Rotate the brain again so it is in the horizontal (top down) view and
take a third screenshot. (2 pts.)
3. Compare the appearance of this brain area in the mouse brain vs. what you saw in
the sheep brain. Is the shape of the brain area mostly similar in the mouse brain,
or does it look different? What about the size of the brain area relative to the total
size of the brain? Is the brain area larger, smaller, or about the same size as it is in
the sheep brain? (3 pts.)
4. The menu on the left side of the screen shows the number of neurons and glia
found in your area of interest. (To view the glia in the brain reconstruction, click
the toggle switch next to Glia). Provide the following information (4 pts.):
Total number of neurons:
Number of excitatory neurons:
Number of inhibitory neurons:
Number of modulatory neurons:
Total number of glia:
Number of oligodendrocytes:
Number of astrocytes:
Number of microglia:
5. Use your knowledge from prior coursework and/or an Internet search to name an
example of an excitatory neurotransmitter, an inhibitory neurotransmitter, and a
modulatory neurotransmitter. (3 pts.)
6. Based on what you learned in this module, which histological stain could be used
to determine the total number of neurons in a brain area? Which stain could be
used to visualize the white matter in the brain? Which technique would be used to
determine how many neurons express a particular type of neurotransmitter? (3
pts.)
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