Behavioral Research Blog

What is behavior?

What is behavior? Behavior is a fundamental aspect of human and animal life. In scientific terms, behavior is a subject of study within the field of behavioral research, which aims to understand different behaviors.

Rat giggles and mouse songs: ultrasonic vocalizations

You might know the saying: "quiet as a mouse". However, rodents are everything except quiet. In this blog we explore the hidden world of ultrasonic vocalizations.

Practical skills grow with every replay

Video brings clarity and consistency to skills training in nursing and allied health. Discover why it works, what the research shows, and how to add it to your own program.

Understanding phase dispersion in CatWalk

CatWalk 10.7 introduced circular graphs for phase dispersion and coupling. In this blog post we go over these parameters, and how they are calculated so you can see how to interpret values, run statistics, and report results.

To hide or explore? What the elevated plus maze reveals about anxiety

A raised, plus-shaped platform with two arms walled in and two arms open. In this blog we explain what the elevated plus maze measures, look at how labs are pairing it with EthoVision, and share practical tips.

Optogenetics: using light to study the brain and behavior

Learn how optogenetics uses light to study brain activity, from its inception to where the technology stands today.

FaceReader 10 vs. Open-Source Facial Expression Tools

See how FaceReader 10 stacks up against OpenFace, LibreFace, and pyAFAR on emotion classification accuracy, Action Unit detection, and infant facial expression analysis in this updated 2026 comparison.

The complete guide to behavioral observation

Behavioral observation is essential to reliable research, training, and clinical work. Learn what it is, why it matters, and how to implement it effectively without sacrificing time or consistency.

Free to roam: the open field test is a behavioral staple

Researchers reach for the open field test for many different goals: a general locomotor screening, an anxiety readout. In this blog we explore what it measures, how recent studies are using it, and how to set it up in your lab with EthoVision.

Counting the choices: what the radial arm maze teaches us

The radial arm maze asks a rodent to remember eight paths at once, without doubling back. We look at how it works, what recent studies discover, and how automated tracking turns each run into precise data.

EthoVision vs. DeepLabCut: Why the answer Is often both

EthoVision and DeepLabCut were built to solve different problems. This guide lays out what each tool does best, where they overlap, and how to decide which belongs in your behavioral research pipeline.

Three arms, one decision: the Y-maze for learning and memory

The Y-maze is one of the most efficient tools for studying spatial and working memory. Learn how automated tracking transforms arm entries into clean, objective data across rodent and zebrafish models.