Department of Pathology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Department of Human Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Curr Protoc. 2023 Sep;3(9):e881. doi: 10.1002/cpz1.881.
The open field (OF) test is a widely used behavioral assay in animal studies to assess locomotion, emotion, and cognition. In open-field-based object recognition tasks, the open arena is equipped with combinations of objects to allow the examination of various aspects of learning and memory. In this article, we provide a protocol for open-field-based unimodal memory tests that assess tactile or visual unimodal cognitive behavior in mice. These tests do not require mice to be restricted from eating or drinking and do not involve aversive stimuli, such as electric shock, high-decibel sound waves, bright light, or forced swimming. Inside the apparatus, mice can freely and spontaneously explore the objects and the environment. Sniffing of, or direct contact with, objects is considered a cognitive exploration of the objects, and the timing and number of such behaviors can be recorded. During the acquisition phase, two identical objects are provided. After an intertrial interval, the retrieval phase is initiated, during which one object is replaced with a new object that is different from the previous one. Decorative clear domes are used prevent direct tactile contact with the objects, whereas infrared illumination is used to block visual information from the objects. By alternating the access to visual or tactile features of the objects in the acquisition and retrieval phases, the experimenters can assess visual or tactile unimodal cognition. Here, we describe our own instrumentation and application for experiments, and demonstrate that the modified device is capable of testing visual or tactile unimodal cognition in mice. Although easy to perform, this task/test can accurately reflect unimodal cognitive performance in mice, which can provide solid and reproducible data support to related studies. © 2023 Wiley Periodicals LLC. Basic Protocol 1: Validation of the open-field-based unimodal object recognition test Basic Protocol 2: Evaluation of chronic stress effects on unimodal cognition using the open-field-based unimodal cognitive test.
旷场（OF）测试是一种广泛应用于动物研究中的行为评估方法，用于评估运动、情绪和认知。在基于旷场的物体识别任务中，开放场地配备了物体组合，以允许检查学习和记忆的各个方面。在本文中，我们提供了一种基于旷场的单一模态记忆测试协议，用于评估小鼠的触觉或视觉单一模态认知行为。这些测试不需要限制小鼠进食或饮水，也不涉及电击、高声波、强光或强制游泳等厌恶刺激。在仪器内部，小鼠可以自由和自发地探索物体和环境。对物体的嗅探或直接接触被认为是对物体的认知探索，并且可以记录这种行为的时间和次数。在获得阶段，提供两个相同的物体。在试验间隔后，启动检索阶段，在此期间，一个物体被一个与之前不同的新物体替换。装饰性透明圆顶用于防止与物体直接接触，而红外照明用于阻挡来自物体的视觉信息。通过在获得和检索阶段交替访问物体的视觉或触觉特征，实验者可以评估视觉或触觉单一模态认知。在这里，我们描述了我们自己的仪器和应用实验，并证明了修改后的设备能够测试小鼠的视觉或触觉单一模态认知。虽然易于执行，但这项任务/测试可以准确反映小鼠的单一模态认知表现，为相关研究提供可靠和可重复的数据支持。
