Automated assessment of pavlovian conditioned freezing and shock reactivity in mice using the video freeze system.
The Pavlovian conditioned freezing paradigm has become a prominent mouse and rat model of learning and memory, as well as of pathological fear. Due to its efficiency, reproducibility and well-defined neurobiology, the paradigm has become widely adopted in large-scale genetic and pharmacological screens. However, one major shortcoming of the use of freezing behavior has been that it has required the use of tedious hand scoring, or a variety of proprietary automated methods that are often poorly validated or difficult to obtain and implement. Here we report an extensive validation of the Video Freeze system in mice, a "turn-key" all-inclusive system for fear conditioning in small animals. Using digital video and near-infrared lighting, the system achieved outstanding performance in scoring both freezing and movement. Given the large-scale adoption of the conditioned freezing paradigm, we encourage similar validation of other automated systems for scoring freezing, or other behaviors.
Molecular Cognition Laboratory, Department of Psychology, University of California San Diego, CA, USA.
Stephan G
SG
Anagnostaras
Suzanne C
SC
Wood
Tristan
T
Shuman
Denise J
DJ
Cai
Arthur D
AD
Leduc
Karl R
KR
Zurn
J Brooks
JB
Zurn
Jennifer R
JR
Sage
Gerald M
GM
Herrera