A computer-assisted odorized hole-board for testing olfactory perception in mice

J Neurosci Methods. 2009 Jun 15;180(2):296-303. doi: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2009.04.008. Epub 2009 Apr 19.

Abstract

The present paper describes a behavioral setup, designed and built in our laboratory, allowing the systematic and automatic recording of performances in a large number of olfactory behavioral tests. This computerized monitoring system has the capability of measuring different aspects of olfactory function in mice using different paradigms including threshold evaluation, generalization tasks, habituation/dishabituation, olfactory associative learning, short-term olfactory memory with or without a spatial component, and olfactory preferences. In this paper, we first describe the hole-board apparatus and its software and then give the experimental results obtained using this system. We demonstrate that one single, easy-to-run experimental setup is a powerful tool for the study of olfactory behavior in mice that has many advantages and broad applications.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Association Learning / physiology
  • Behavioral Sciences / instrumentation
  • Behavioral Sciences / methods
  • Computers
  • Electronic Data Processing / methods
  • Equipment Design / methods
  • Habituation, Psychophysiologic / physiology
  • Memory / physiology
  • Mice
  • Neurologic Examination / instrumentation
  • Neurologic Examination / methods
  • Neuropsychological Tests*
  • Neuropsychology / instrumentation
  • Neuropsychology / methods
  • Odorants
  • Research Design
  • Sensory Thresholds / physiology
  • Smell / physiology*
  • Space Perception / physiology