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Individual Differences in Male Rats in a Behavioral Test Battery: A Multivariate Statistical Approach.

ABSTRACT: Animal models for anxiety, depressive-like and cognitive diseases or aging often involve testing of subjects in behavioral test batteries. The large number of test variables with different mean variations and within and between test correlations often constitute a significant problem in determining essential variables to assess behavioral patterns and their variation in individual animals as well as appropriate statistical treatment. Therefore, we applied a multivariate approach (principal component analysis) to analyse the behavioral data of 162 male adult Sprague-Dawley rats that underwent a behavioral test battery including commonly used tests for spatial learning and memory (holeboard) and different behavioral patterns (open field, elevated plus maze, forced swim test) as well as for motor abilities (Rota rod). The high dimensional behavioral results were reduced to fewer components associated with spatial cognition, general activity, anxiety-, and depression-like behavior and motor ability. The loading scores of individual rats on these different components allow an assessment and the distribution of individual features in a population of animals. The reduced number of components can be used also for statistical calculations like appropriate sample sizes for valid discriminations between experimental groups, which otherwise have to be done on each variable. Because the animals were intact, untreated and experimentally naïve the results reflect trait patterns of behavior and thus individuality. The distribution of animals with high or low levels of anxiety, depressive-like behavior, general activity and cognitive features in a local population provides information of the probability of their appeareance in experimental samples and thus may help to avoid biases. However, such an analysis initially requires a large cohort of animals in order to gain a valid assessment.

SUBMITTER: Feyissa DD

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5314104 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Individual Differences in Male Rats in a Behavioral Test Battery: A Multivariate Statistical Approach.

Feyissa Daniel D DD Aher Yogesh D YD Engidawork Ephrem E Höger Harald H Lubec Gert G Korz Volker V

Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience 20170217

Animal models for anxiety, depressive-like and cognitive diseases or aging often involve testing of subjects in behavioral test batteries. The large number of test variables with different mean variations and within and between test correlations often constitute a significant problem in determining essential variables to assess behavioral patterns and their variation in individual animals as well as appropriate statistical treatment. Therefore, we applied a multivariate approach (principal compo ...[more]

PMID: 28261069

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Project description:Adolescence is an important developmental phase with extensive changes in behavior due to remodeling of the brain and hormonal systems. Validation of animal behavioral tests in this age group is therefore of importance as differences to adult behavior are often not clarified. The aim of the present study was to investigate adolescent behavior in the multivariate concentric square fieldTM (MCSF) test and its relationship to other common behavioral tests as well as to a literature dataset of adult animals. Sixty adolescent male Wistar rats were tested in the MCSF and one of four reference tests; the elevated plus maze, the open field with or without start box, or the social play behavior test. Additionally, 12 animals were tested twice in the MCSF. When analyzing the first encounter with the MCSF test, a distinct grouping of the individuals into three behavioral types was observed. Approximately 20% of the animals had high levels of activity and an additional 20% had high levels of shelter seeking-behavior, these groups composed the outlying behavioral types named Explorers and Shelter seekers, respectively, which were distinct from the Main type of animals. When tested in the MCSF for a second time, the adolescent animals showed a recollection of the arena as they changed their behavior in relation to the first encounter. When comparing the MCSF performance to the reference tests, a relationship was found between the MCSF and the other behavioral test entailing forced exploration, while no relationship was found between the MCSF and social play. The adolescent behavioral profile was characterized by decreased risk assessment and a different activity profile than adults. In conclusion, the MCSF test is useful for profiling adolescent rats but the behavioral interpretation differs from that of adults due to differences in behavioral manifestation during adolescence and the presence of natural subgroups. Adolescent exploration shows a relationship across tests, but the MCSF gives more information than any of the other behavioral tests based on forced exploration. Further studies into the neurobiology behind the behavioral types and how different manipulations affect the distribution into the behavioral types are of interest.

Dataset Information

Individual Differences in Male Rats in a Behavioral Test Battery: A Multivariate Statistical Approach.

Publications

Individual Differences in Male Rats in a Behavioral Test Battery: A Multivariate Statistical Approach.

Similar Datasets

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