The “Eight Arms Radial Maze" is extensively used in behavioural laboratories for evaluating spatial memory but also non-spatial memory associated with motivational cues (classically food).
Panlab propose 3 solutions for radial maze experiments:
- Manual radial maze LE760/LE762 that can be used optionally with the SMART video tracking software
- Semi-automated radial maze LE767/LE769 that can be used optionally with the SMART video tracking software
- Automated radial maze with photobeams LE766/LE768
All Panlab radial mazes consist in a central area with eight sliding doors giving access to eight equally-sized arms. The maze, made of black Plexiglas, is mounted on a tripod with adjustable height high (until 1m). Each arm has lateral walls with a height higher in the proximal side of the arm than in the distal side. The arms are easily detachable by unscrewing an underneath fixing knob. In the distal extreme of each arm, a detachable recessed cup can be installed or replaced by cover (all included).
The sliding doors can be opened and closed automatically or manually:
- Automated doors operation can be controlled by the animal position throughout the test using the Mazesoft-8 software associated with photoelectrical cell mounted on the radial maze and the corresponding control unit. See the application sheet available in the Download section.
- Manual doors operation can be made remotely by the user by using the switches available on the control unit.
- Manual doors operation can be made in situ by the user by using the threads provided for opening of closing each door.
A water version of the radial maze (aquatic radial maze) is also available (see related water maze products).
The Digital Water Plethysmometer is designed to provide a highly useful tool in the measurement of small volume changes. This test is typically used to follow the evolution of the inflammatory response experimentally induced in rodents and to screen potential anti-inflammatory or anti-oedema properties of pharmacological substances.
Basically, the volume transducer is formed by two Perspex tubes interconnected and filled with a conductive solution and a platinum electrode for each chamber. All the system is supported by a stand (included) that can be placed over the control unit.
The water displacement produced by the immersion of the animal paw in the measuring tube is reflected into the second tube, inducing a change in the conductance between the two platinum electrodes. The Plethysmometer Control Unit detects the conductance changes and generates an output signal to the digital display indicating the volume displacement measured (0.01 ml resolution). The current value remains in the digital display until a new trial starts. The Control Unit is automatically zeroed between successive readings, thus making intermediate adjustments unnecessary.
A remote foot-switch allowing rapid hands-free experiments can be used to set control the end point of the measurement.
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.
Passive avoidance is fear-motivated tests classically used to assess short-term or long-term memory on small laboratory animals (rat, mice).
Basically, passive avoidance working protocols involve timing of transitions, i.e. time that the animal takes to move from the white compartment to the black one after a conditioning session -in which the entry into the black compartment is punished with a mild inescapable electrical shock- is carried out.
The Panlab passive avoidance box (LE870/872) is defined by a large white illuminated compartment and a small black dark compartment separated by a guillotine gate. The animal position is detected by using high sensitivity weight transducers providing higher effective and reliable detection of animal responses (zones entries) than systems based on photocells beams or on grid floor displacements.
Panlab Passive Avoidance boxes are controlled by the ShutAvoid software, allowing to run passive avoidance experiments in several boxes simultaneously. It is not necessary the use of PCI board installed into the PC. The link is carried out by one only cable from one Box to the other. The first Box is connected to PC or Laptop through a RS232/USB communcation.
The passive avoidance test can also be conducted in a shuttle box for both the active and passive avoidance tests.
Open-field experiments allow the evaluation of animal’s basal activity and its evolution, in response to novelty or anxiogenic environment, and in response to pharmacological treatment, lesion or genetic modification.
Panlab proposes square open-fields available for rats and mice. The arena is made of durable material which has the advantage to be non-absorbent to the odours and easy to clean. The arena is surrounded by high walls and is available in different non reflective colours for video-tracking purposes. The system is entirely demountable for enabling storage in the minimum space. The floor can be divided into equal squares under request for the direct counting of animal activity.
The Panlab open-field can be combined with the SMART video-tracking system for the automated evaluation of a wide variety of behaviors (activity, exploration, anxiety, etc...)
Para pruebas estandares de condicionamiento operante y en cajas de conducta.
The Panlab Operant Chamber is an entirely modular experimental enclosure designed to conduct operant conditioning procedures (e.g. food reinforcement, DMTS, conflict tests, self-administration…).
The operant chamber is made in an entirely modular structure which allows complete disassembling or rearrangement to build a new space of different dimensions/components or to enable storage in the minimum space.
A frontal door offers a total accessibility inside the chamber. Walls and cover can be of different material or colour, since they are totally removable.
Each chamber is associated with a Link Box which provides power to up to 8 (expandable depending of the customer configuration) Operant Modules (levers, lights, sound, dispensers, electrical shock...) conferring to the chambers a full autonomy.
Only one cable connects the Link Box to the PC (PackWin Software), this last for advanced protocol configuration and running.
The Panlab Infrared (IR) Actimeter allows the study of spontaneous locomotor activity, rearings and optionally hole-board test parameters for exploration in rodents. A reliable system for easy and rapid drug screening and phenotype characterisation in both day and night lighting conditions.
The system is basically composed by a 2 dimensional (X and Y axes) square frame, a frame support and a control unit. Each frame counts with 16 x 16 infrared beams for optimal subject detection.
The system is completely modular: each frame may be used for evaluation of general activity (one or several animals), locomotor and stereotyped movements or rearings or exploration (nose-spoke detection in the hole-board option). The infrared photocell system can be set with up to 15 levels of sensitivity in order to adapt the frames to the typology of the animal (rats, mice). It can also be set to ignore the beams that are obstructed by objects (e.g. the walls/corners of the home cage).
The frames can be controlled by the independent control units LE8825 or directly through the optional SEDACOM computer software. The new SEDACOM 2.0 version provides an easy and convenient way to visualize and export the data on a computer for further analysis.
Optionally, the ActiTrack software option may be used to analyse animal trajectories (distance, speed, permanence time in selected zones) and then provide additional complementary data to those obtained using the control units.
NEW ACCESSORIES FOR THE DARK/LIGHT BOX TEST!
- LE8826 Dark Box for Large IR Frames
- LE8828 Dark Box for Small IR Frames
Panlab Hot/Cold Plate Analgesia Meter is based on a metal plate which can be heated to 65°C and cooled to -3°C (with an ambient temperature between 20°C and 25°C). An electronic thermostat maintains the plate's temperature and a front panel digital thermometer displays the current plate temperature.
The animal pain sensitivity resulting from exposure to heat or cold is tested by placing the animal on the surface of the plate and starting a built-in timer. The operator stops the timer at the instant the animal lifts its paw from the plate, reacting to the discomfort. The front panel timer then displays the number of seconds the animal took to react. Animal reaction time is a measurement of animal resistance to pain and is used to measure efficacy of analgesics.
The plate is designed to be very simple to use at very fast to reach the set temperature (as example From ambient to 4°C, the most used threhold value, it takes less than 10 minutes, and from 4°C to 65°C it takes only 5 minutes) . Metrology wise, is accurate to less than 0,5°C (EEC metrology standard) and perfectly constant in the animal holder system. The preset temperature will not change for more than 0,1°C when a 400g rat is placed on the plate, and return to the set temperature is almost immediate.
In addition, the instrument can be adjusted to be used for "TEMPERATURE RAMPS" , predefined by the user, this feature is mainly used for studies with telemetry implants. In addition to displaying the reaction time, the Cold/Hot Plate Analgesia Meter is capable of sending the same information via USB interface to a computer.
The operator can start and stop the timer with the front panel start/stop switch or with the included footswitch, which allows "hands-free" operation.
The grip strength meter allows the study of neuromuscular functions in rodents by determining the maximum force displayed by an animal. This test is included in the Functional Observational Battery (FOB) to screen for neurobehavioral toxicity. In this context, changes in grip strength are interpreted as evidence of motor neurotoxicity.
Basically, the grip strength meter is positioned horizontally and the subjects are held by the tail and lowered towards the apparatus. The animals are allowed to grasp the metal grid or triangular pull bar and are then pulled backwards in the horizontal plane. The force applied to the grid or to the bar just before it loses grip is recorded as the peak tension. This force can be measured in grams, Newtons or Ibs.
The grip test includes one accessory by default (bar for rat, grid for rat, bar for mouse or grid for mouse). A different part number is available depending of the included accessory chosen by the customer. The other available accessories can still be added if needed.
Data output is carried out through RS232, printer, or chart recorder. Depending on the grid type used, grip strength can be measured from the front or hind paws.
The SEDACOM 2.0 or BIO-CIS software provides an easy and convenient way to visualize and export the data on a computer for further analysis.
The Incapacitance test (weight bearing test) represents an unsurpassed method for assessing spontaneous pain in laboratory animal model with inflammation or nerve injury in one hind paw (neuropathy, carrageenin, incision…). Indeed, classic measurements of nociceptive thresholds as used in most of the experimental studies allows assessment of only a pain sensitivity level, not a spontaneous pain level, in the absence of experimental nociceptive stimuli.
In the incapacitance test, the animal is located in a holder specially designed to maintain the animal comfortably positioned on two separated sensor plates. The Panlab Incapacitance tester enables then to quantify the spontaneous postural changes reflecting spontaneous pain by independently measuring the weight that the animal applies each hind paw on two separate sensors. In the absence of hind paw injury, rats applied equal weight on both hind paws, indicating a postural equilibrium. After unilateral hind paw tissue injury, a change in the weight distribution on the sensor can be detected, with a lower weight applied by the injured paw.
The current value of the weight applied on each sensor cell is shown on the LCD display of the LE7950 control unit in a user-selected unit (grams, Newton or oz/lbs). Now with a brand new touch-screen console! A remote foot-switch controls the test start/stop allowing rapid hands-free experiments. The control unit also allows to compute and display statistics (mean, sd) for the groups of animals under test during the measurements. No PC is required for running the incapacitance test, although the possibility is given to send collected data from the instrument to a PC through the integrated RS232 interface SEDACOM.
The new SEDACOM 2.0 version (optional) provides an easy and convenient way to visualize and export the data on a computer for further analysis.
The LE7406 Hot Plate performs rapid and precise screening of analgesic drug properties on small-laboratory animals according to the ‘hot-plate test’. The animal’s pain sensitivity alterations induced by a specific experimental context change and/or genetic manipulations can also be evaluated through this method.
Basically, the hot-plate test, initially described by N.B. Eddy and D. Leimbach (1953), evaluates thermal pain reflexes due to footpad contact with a heated surface. During the experiments, the animal is confined in a removable clear acrylic cylinder where the latency time to the first hind paw or/and jumping responses are measured.
In the LE7406 Hot Plate, a thick aluminium plate (10 mm) provides a high temperature stability and even surface distribution. The plate temperature can be held at a set point between 45 and 62°C (± 0.1ºC) by multiple proportional feedback circuits that minimize overshoot. A built-in timer activated by an external foot switch allows precise measurement of reaction time (0.1 sec precision). A remote foot-switch controls the test start/stop allowing rapid hands-free experiments. The operator can read the animal reaction time from the display or from a PC computer using the SEDACOM software.
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 (Trial number, plate temperature, reaction time etc.) on a computer for further analysis.
