Hole Board
The Hole-Board test is frequently used to evaluate the effects of psychotropic drugs on a rodent's exploration (neophilia) and spacial learning behavior. The Hole-Board apparatus is designed as an enclosed arena with holes in the floor into which an animal can poke its head (head-dipping). When confronted with a new environment, the natural tendency of a mouse or rat is to explore any hole present by way of plunging its head in and out of the hole a few times and then move on to the next hole. The Hole-Board test enables assessment of the effects of psychotropic drugs on the rodent's head dipping and exploration activity. The frequency and duration of head dipping are recorded to provide a measure of exploration behavior. In general, a high frequency of head dipping is reflective of normal neophilia while low levels of head dipping is usually indicative of high anxiety level that prevents the animal from exploring.
Analysing Hole-Board test experiments using Actual products is easy, and ActualTrack: Rodent Edition is designed specifically for analysing rodent behavior. An animal in the Hole-Board test set-up is monitored with a video camera mounted above the experimental arena and is connected to a computer to record a video file. ActualTrack: Rodent Edition software analyses the video file and utilises three-point animal tracking (head, centre of mass, and tail base) to identify the animal within the Hole-Board arena and determine its position. Using ActualTrack: Rodent Edition you can define regions for each of the holes, and ActualTrack will identify when the animal dips into the hole and for how long, using the position of its nose relative to the region. With ActualTrack: Rodent Edition, locomotor activity within the Hole-Board is also easily assessed and quantified in any other user-defined region within the arena.
What you need to perform Hole-Board test experiments using ActualTrack: Rodent Edition:
- Digital Camera: from standard digital video camera to professional digital High Definition cameras (to enhance resolution of very small animals or large arenas) ActualTrack: Rodent Edition can work with almost any common video format. See our recommended camera list for the most appropriate camera for your set-up.
- ActualCapture Software (optional) - enables easy direct recording of your experiment to a digital video file. This is recommended when you do not already have a camera and recording software. If you would like us to arrange and supply recording set-up, please contact us.
- Lighting: diffuse lighting from directly above or below, or infrared (IR) lighting for recording during the dark.
- Hole-Board Arena
- A computer with a web browser and web access (see requirements for details).
- ActualTrack: Rodent Edition software
Our tracking, scoring and video capture software can be easily optimised to a broad range of hardware and experimental set-ups to ensure the best possible conditions for your video analysis. If required, please contact us for recommendations and a list of preferred suppliers of hardware.
What you can analyse in a Hole-Board test with ActualTrack: Rodent Edition:
- Locomotor results: Distance moved (cm), Average Speed (cm / s), Locomotor results for each zone (hole)
- Zone results based on location of the animal's nose in relation to the hole: Time spent visiting each hole [s], Time spent visiting each hole [%], Latency to first hole dip [s], Number of head dips to each hole [n], Number of head dips to each hole [%], First hole visited, Order and times of holes visited
- Visualisations: Birds nest plot, heat map
- ActualScore functionality allows for integrated manual coding user defined behaviors
- All results are calculated automatically and provided in an easy to use CSV format which can be imported in to most statistical analysis packages for further investigation and graphical representation
- and much more...
For more information, see the product information, or get in touch to find out more about how ActualTrack: Rodent Edition could help you achieve the results you need.
