Casarrubea M, Jonsson G K, Faulisi F, Sorbera F, Di Giovanni G, Benigno A, Crescimanno G, Magnusson M S
Department of Experimental Biomedicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Human Physiology Section "Giuseppe Pagano", Laboratory of Behavioral Physiology, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy.
Human Behavior Laboratory, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland.
J Neurosci Methods. 2015 Jan 15;239:34-46. doi: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2014.09.024. Epub 2014 Oct 2.
A basic tenet in the realm of modern behavioral sciences is that behavior consists of patterns in time. For this reason, investigations of behavior deal with sequences that are not easily perceivable by the unaided observer. This problem calls for improved means of detection, data handling and analysis. This review focuses on the analysis of the temporal structure of behavior carried out by means of a multivariate approach known as T-pattern analysis. Using this technique, recurring sequences of behavioral events, usually hard to detect, can be unveiled and carefully described. T-pattern analysis has been successfully applied in the study of various aspects of human or animal behavior such as behavioral modifications in neuro-psychiatric diseases, route-tracing stereotypy in mice, interaction between human subjects and animal or artificial agents, hormonal-behavioral interactions, patterns of behavior associated with emesis and, in our laboratories, exploration and anxiety-related behaviors in rodents. After describing the theory and concepts of T-pattern analysis, this review will focus on the application of the analysis to the study of the temporal characteristics of behavior in different species from rodents to human beings. This work could represent a useful background for researchers who intend to employ such a refined multivariate approach to the study of behavior.
现代行为科学领域的一个基本原则是，行为由随时间变化的模式组成。因此，对行为的研究涉及到那些不借助辅助手段观察者就难以察觉的序列。这个问题需要改进检测、数据处理和分析方法。本综述聚焦于通过一种称为T模式分析的多变量方法对行为的时间结构进行分析。使用这种技术，可以揭示并详细描述通常难以检测到的行为事件的重复序列。T模式分析已成功应用于人类或动物行为各个方面的研究，如神经精神疾病中的行为改变、小鼠的路径追踪刻板行为、人类受试者与动物或人工代理之间的互动、激素与行为的相互作用、与呕吐相关的行为模式，以及在我们实验室中对啮齿动物探索和焦虑相关行为的研究。在描述了T模式分析的理论和概念之后，本综述将重点关注该分析在研究从啮齿动物到人类等不同物种行为的时间特征方面的应用。这项工作可为那些打算采用这种精细的多变量方法研究行为的研究人员提供有用的背景知识。
