Method for Primary Epithelial Cell Culture from the Rat Choroid Plexus
[Abstract] The choroid plexus consists of a network of secretory epithelial cells localized throughout the lateral, third and fourth ventricles of the brain. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is generated by the choroid plexus and released into the ventricular environment. This biofluid contains an enriched source of proteins, ions, and other signaling molecules for ...
Implanting and Recycling Neuropixels Probes for Recordings in Freely Moving Mice
[Abstract] Recording neural activity in unrestricted animals is necessary to unravel the neural basis of ethological behaviors. Recently, Neuropixels probes have made important strides in improving yield and lowering noise, but have limited use cases in freely moving animals. Although there are a number of studies demonstrating the use of these probes in ...
Protocol for Measuring Free (Low-stress) Exploration in Rats
Authors: Wojciech Pisula and
Klaudia Modlinska,
date: 01/20/2020,
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[Abstract] Research on exploratory behavior plays a key part in behavioral science. Studying exploratory behavior of laboratory rodents may provide important data about many developmental and neurobiological processes occurring in animal ontogenesis. The proposed protocol for measuring the free (low-stress) exploration behavior in rats is straightforward, ...
Assessing Rough-and-tumble Play Behavior in Juvenile Rats
[Abstract] Play is a complex social behavior that is highly conserved across mammals. In most species, males engage in more frequent and vigorous play as juveniles than females, which reflects subtle yet impactful sex differences in brain circuitry and development. In this protocol, we describe a behavioral testing paradigm to assess social play in male and ...
Semi-automated Model to Accurately Counting Sympathetic Nervous Fibers
[Abstract] In recent years, the role of sympathetic nervous fibers in chronic inflammation has become increasingly evident. At the onset of inflammation, sympathetic activity is increased in the affected tissue. However, sympathetic fibers are largely absent from chronically inflamed tissues. Apparently, there is a very dynamic relationship between ...
Trial-based Discrimination Procedure for Studying Drug Relapse in Rats
[Abstract] In abstinent drug addicts, cues formerly associated with drug-taking experiences gain relapse-inducing potency (‘incubate’) over time. Animal models of incubation may help in developing treatments for relapse prevention. However, these models have primarily focused on the role of conditioned stimuli (CSs) signaling drug delivery and not ...
Use of the Vsoc-maze to Study Sociability and Preference for Social Novelty in Rodents
[Abstract] Studying social behavior in mouse models empowers the understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms involved, which are affected in neuropsychiatric disorders, allowing the evaluation of therapeutic strategies. Behavioral methods available are time-consuming and reducing the length of behavioral sessions may render more manageable experiments ...
Protocol for Measuring Compulsive-like Feeding Behavior in Mice
[Abstract] Obesity is an important health problem with a strong environmental component that is acquiring pandemic proportion. The high availability of caloric dense foods promotes overeating potentially causing obesity. Animal models are key to validate novel therapeutic strategies, but researchers must carefully select the appropriate model to draw the ...