Open-field Examination
Open-field Examination - Related Videos
07:44
Ophthalmoscopic Examination
0 Views •
2023
Source: Richard Glickman-Simon, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, MA The simplest ophthalmoscopes consist of an aperture to look through, a diopter indicator, and a disc for selecting lenses. The ophthalmoscope is primarily used to examine the fundus, or the inner wall of the posterior eye, which consists of the choroid, retina, fovea, macula, optic disc, and retinal vessels (Figure 1). The spherical eyeball...
20:06
The Comprehensive Infant Examination
0 Views •
2023
Source: Heather Collette and Jaideep Talwalkar; Yale School of Medicine The newborn exam is important in establishing a baby's baseline health status as they enter the world. Newborn providers have the unique opportunity to evaluate a patient for the very first time. They are also tasked with identifying congenital anomalies that require early intervention to promote a long and healthy life for the child. Many newborn anomalies, such as heart defects, are noted on prenatal ultrasound. However,...
35:03
Mental Status Examination
0 Views •
2023
Source: Carmen Black, Matthew Goldenberg, and Jaideep Talwalkar; Yale School of Medicine The mental status exam is a clinical evaluation of emotional, perceptual, and cognitive functioning that spans both the fields of psychiatry and neurology. Developing skill in the psychiatric portions of the examination are important to describe salient aspects of the patient's mental state that may be observed during routine history and/or physical exam. Proficiency in the cognitive portions of this...
06:24
Examining Changes in HRV and Emotion Following Artmaking with Three Different Art Materials
0 Views •
Cited by 3 •
2020
The goal of the protocol is to guide researchers in conducting experiments that are intended to measure changes in self-reported emotional response and heart rate variability following art making with different materials. The protocol can easily be adapted for use in a variety of behavioral conditions and activities.
09:43
Modification and Application of a Leaf Blower-vac for Field Sampling of Arthropods
0 Views •
Cited by 18 •
2016
Assessment of arthropod abundance in crops is critical for investigating population dynamics and species interactions. Here we describe the modification and application of a leaf blower-vac for suction sampling of arthropods in rice.
FAQs
Time spent in the center or along the walls provides information about anxiety-related responses in the unfamiliar arena. However, these measures should not be interpreted in isolation. An animal that moves very little may show limited center entry because of reduced locomotor capacity rather than altered anxiety, so spatial behavior is best considered together with distance traveled and movement speed.
Activity often changes as the animal becomes familiar with the arena. Recording changes during habituation can therefore distinguish initial responses to novelty from behavior that persists over the test period. A decline or other shift in movement may carry different biological meaning than consistently high or low activity, making the time course an important part of interpretation.
Total distance traveled and movement speed characterize locomotor performance directly. They can identify broad changes in activity that might otherwise be mistaken for emotional effects, including reduced or increased movement after genetic modification, brain injury, stress, environmental change, or treatment. Comparing these measures with center and wall occupancy helps separate motor-related patterns from anxiety-related responses.
The animal is placed in an unfamiliar, enclosed arena and allowed to move freely while its behavior is recorded. The assessment then extracts locomotor and spatial measures, including total distance traveled, movement speed, time spent in the center or along the walls, and activity changes during habituation. These measurements provide complementary views of the behavioral response.
Common outputs include total distance traveled, movement speed, center time, wall time, and changes in activity during habituation. Together, these variables describe how much the animal moves, how rapidly it moves, where it spends time, and whether its behavior changes with exposure. Examining the measures together supports a more cautious interpretation than relying on one value.
Researchers apply the assay to examine behavioral consequences of genetic modifications, brain injury, stress, environmental conditions, and pharmacological treatments. Its results can indicate changes in locomotion, exploration, or anxiety-related responses, but altered movement may reflect both motor and emotional factors. For that reason, findings are commonly interpreted alongside complementary behavioral and physiological measurements.