The automatic TST system for the tail suspension test allows a fast and reliable screening of the psychotropic properties (anti-depressants, sedatives) of drugs.
Basically, the measuring principle is based on the energy developed by mice trying to escape from their suspension. During the test, the movements of the mice are analysed in terms of force, energy and power developed over time.
The system includes the suspension cages (3 mice per cage) and a user-friendly software to run, record, analyse and replay the experiments. The results are either printed or stored in .txt or.xls files formats.
The Y maze is commonly used for assessing spatial working memory in rats and mice, especially for spontaneous alternation tasks.
The tasks using a Y maze are simple tasks that can be run in both rats and mice. The mazes are made of non-reflective and odor resistant material well suited for any video-tracking system. The mazes are provided in a grey color floor, walls and manual sliding doors.
The Panlab Y mazes can be associated with the SMART Video-Tracking Systems for detection and analysis of animal displacements and behavior throughout the test.
The standard zero plus maze is a variation of the elevated plus maze used to assess anxiety-like behavior in small laboratory animals (rat/mice).
In this task, the conflict between the innate fear that rodents have of open areas versus their desire to explore novel environments is exploited. Security is provided by the closed arms whereas the open arms offer exploratory value. When anxious, the natural tendency of rodents is to prefer enclosed dark spaces to opened brightly lit spaces. In this context, anxiety-related behavior is measured by the degree to which the rodent avoids the unenclosed areas of the maze.
The Panlab zero maze is a cycling corridor elevated above the floor and provided with two open areas and two closed areas. The maze is made of odour-resistant black perpex material with no-reflective colour for eliminating any glare.
The elevated zero maze can be used with a video tracking system such as the Panlab SMART video-tracking software. The maze is provided with a set of gray floor for optimizing the detection of darker animals in this context.
The T maze is commonly used for assessing spatial working memory in rats and mice, especially for delayed alternation tasks. The tasks using a T maze are simple tasks that can be run in both rats and mice.
The Panlab T mazes are made of non-reflective and odor resistant material well suited for any video-tracking system. The mazes are provided with a back color floor and grey walls (including an additional set of grey floors and 3 doors).
The Panlab T mazes can be associated with the SMART Video-Tracking Systems for detection and analysis of animal displacements and behavior throughout the test.
The Barnes maze is a popular test for assessing spatial learning and memory in rats and mice.
To begin the test the animal is placed on top of the Barnes maze platform, a brightly lit environment consisting of a fixed number of holes around its periphery. In such an open environment, rodents naturally seek a dark enclosed surrounding, which is provided in the form of a dark box (goal box) under one of the round holes around the perimeter of the platform. The amount of time required for the animal to locate the goal box using visuo-spatial cues surrounding the maze periphery is measured by the researcher.
Unlike the Radial maze and Watermaze test the Barnes maze does not require dietary restrictions or swimming stress, making it a useful alternative for behaviorally phenotyping genetically modi! ed mice and rats.
Panlab provides different models of Barnes mazes for rat and mouse, with different floor color and goal/false box options:
- Basic Barnes maze includes: 1 or 2 floor colors, rotating floor, 1 goal box (fixed location) and 1 starting cylinder
- Full/Flexible Barnes maze includes: 3 floor colors, rotating floor, 1 starting cylinder, 1 goal box and the corresponding number of false boxes. Additional goal boxes can be used for more advanced memory tasks (to be purchased separately). Goal/false boxes can be freely positioned beneath any hole.
MAZESOFT-8 is complete and easy-to-use software for monitoring radial maze experiments. It has been specially designed to work with the Panlab radial maze apparatus equipped with rows of infrared photocells for the automated detection of animal position.
The software allows for the full control of the arm doors either manually (by means of a button panel in the computer screen) or automatically, when a trained subject is being tested.
MAZESOFT-8 allows the user setting any of the standard protocols for the study of working and reference memory in laboratory animals. The protocols are easy to configure, the user only have to enter some important parameters: designation of the baited arms, conditions to stop the experiments, time-interval between each trial, doors monitoring mode, criterion for considering the arm visited… Each protocol configuration can be saved and opened for use when necessary. A “trial header” can be used for recording all the necessary information associated with the current experiment (code of trial, experimenter, challenge, dose, subject identification, comments).
In MAZESOFT-8, the maze is virtually divided into 17 sections: 8 equally sized arms (each one divided into proximal and distal section) and a central area. One experiment can be composed of several trials, depending on the number of experimental groups and animals per group used in the study. The system considers an arm being visited when the subject has been detected in the distal part of the arm. During each trial, the elapsed time, permanence time in each area and current position of the animal can be visualized in real-time. Real-time information about the animal position and the number of visits made are also graphically shown on the screen. A Runtime data panel shows the cumulated number of working and reference memory errors together with other important data (response latency, number and list of visits and entries into the arms etc…)
MAZESOFT-8 provides a summary data table containing the complete information about each session (subject name, group, date) together with all the integrated data of interest. The tables of session can be re-organised before exportation according to parameters previously entered in the trial header (by subjects, by groups, by experimenter, etc.). Data from the summary data base as well as the detailed chronological listing of the animal positions for each session can be easily exported to Excel.
ActiTrack controls data coming from up to 32 IR frames. It discriminates and analyses frequency and number of IR beam breaks to convert it in a track file that can be analysed later for generating reports. Thus ActiTrack provides much more integrated and precise data in terms of animal activity, position, displacements and rearings than those provided by the SeDaCom software.
The Vogel test is a conflict test has become a standard for fast screening the potential anxiolytic properties of drugs. In this procedure, the drinking behavior is punished by mild electrical shocks leading to a significant reduction of water consumption in deprived animals. Drinking responses are then reestablished by drugs with anxiolytic properties.
The Panlab Vogel test consists of a standard home cage associated with a grid floor. An electronic unit associated with a special nipple ensures the detection and counting of the licks reflecting the animal drinking behavior. Using an exclusive nipple design, any casual and non-specific contacts of the animal with the nipple will not be considered as a drinking response.
A multi-cage configuration allows performing the Vogel test for up to 32 cages. The cages are associated with a link box (1 for each 8 cages) ensuring the functional interaction between the lick sensor system, the LE10025 Shock generator (1 per cage) and the PackWin software for advanced protocol configuration and data acquisition.
The interconnection among the cages and the computer is carry out by a RS 232 serial communication. Such a configuration allows performing the test on a Laptop.
2020 Virtual FENS Highlights - NEW Rat/Mice Convertible options
One of the most sophisticated solutions on the market!
Ideal for exercise training and fatigue studies in rodents, Panlab’s treadmills are recognized as some of the most sophisticated solutions on the market.
- Efficient bench footprint
- Durable, high quality finish
- Smart control unit with powerful graphic touchscreen
- Extensive range of speed choices for low to high speed requests
- Choice of many stop conditions for defining fatigue
- Constant electrical shock intensity to minimize inter-individual variability
- Positive and negative belt slope selections
- Shock or air puff stimulation option
- Indirect calorimetry option for respiratory metabolism studies
- Can be combined with telemetry (heart rate, temperature…) for more extensive cardiovascular studies
Applications
Treadmills are a popular tool for studying the physiological adaptations and possible benefits resulting from exercise. Applications span a wide range of research interests including sports performance, metabolic diseases, cardiovascular disorders, spinal cord injury recovery and chronic pain models.
Description
Panlab/Harvard Apparatus small animal treadmills are used for forced exercise training and accurate testing of fatigue in rodents. A control unit with touchscreen user interface plus the ability to perform individual lane stimulation (shock or air-puff) add convenience and experimental flexibility in setting up and managing study parameters.
The treadmill includes a shock grid which delivers electrical shock of constant intensity. An air-puff accessory option (air source not included) is interchangeable with shock, enabling the use of one or the other depending on experimental needs. The treadmill lanes have sufficient width for the animal to correct any errors in coordination, allowing an exact measurement of fatigue. Robust design and high-quality materials guarantee high performance under conditions of intensive use.
The control unit’s touchscreen allows control of the speed of the belt and the intensity of the stimulus. Parameters measured are recorded and shown on the control unit display, including belt speed and slope, distance covered, accumulated shock time, and shock intensity. The control unit provides current to the shocking grid and allows communication with the PC for data storage through the optional SEDACOM software (USB communication). The SEDACOM software is needed for editing and executing user-defined protocols of speed (acceleration, deceleration, customized, etc.). The sessions can be manually stopped independently in each lane or automatically using specific user-defined parameters.
We also propose single lane treadmill configurations for metabolism studies (indirect calorimetry).
NEW 1-LANE AND 2-LANE RAT/MICE CONVERTIBLE TREADMILLS!
Panlab now offers a complete line of rat/mice convertible treadmills. Similarly as the 5-lane treadmills, the 1-lane and 2-lanes rat treadmills can now be easily converted into a mouse treadmill. New grid, lid and air puff accessories are now available for this purpose (see the How to Order Tab).LOW SPEED OPTIONS!
A new speed range of 0.4 to 150 cm/s allows further flexibility in exercise and fatigue studies and opens its use to new fields of applications (non-rodent animal species, fine motor coordination…).
The new speed range would be available in all standard touchscreen treadmills except for the rabbit treadmill model.
For the OxyletPro airtight treadmill (Metabolism studies), the new low speed range is not available through the METABOLISM software (5 to 150 cm/s)
Please contact us for getting more information about how to upgrade the firmware of your touchscreen treadmill and get this new low speed options along together with some minor improvements/bug corrections.
FIRMWARE CHANGE REPORTS:
- Firmware 1.50.1.128.214 Change Report
Basically, a radiant heat is applied on the tail; when the animal feels discomfort, it reacts by a sudden tail’s movement (tail flick) which automatically stops the stimulation and the timer for the measurement of the animal reaction time (period from the beginning of the stimulation until detection of the animal’s response).
This test has proved particularly sensitive for studying the analgesic properties of pharmacological substances. It can also be used to evaluate basal thermal pain sensitivity or to study putative genetic differences among animals without drug (‘naïve’).
The LE7106 Tail-flick Meter consists of a Stimulation Unit (containing the halogen lamp for the heat stimulus) and an electronic Control Unit. The system can be used for rats and mice of different sizes. The animals are placed with its tail protruding within a restraining tube on the platform of the Stimulus Unit. The animal’s tail is positioned on a slot of adjustable width equipped with a groove that guarantees a correct placement of the rodent’s tail. A remote foot-switch controls the test start/stop allowing rapid hands-free experiments.
A photo beam detects the tail flick and the latency is automatically presented on a digital display on the Control Unit. Measurements of reaction time are given with a 0.01 s precision. A cut-off time is set to avoid tissue damage (by default: 20 s). The precise control of the heat stimulus and the groove system ensure optimum repeatability and reliability of results.
The optional SeDacom software (new version 2.0 available) can be used and represents an easy and convenient way to visualize and export the data on a computer for further analysis.
