Animal Behavior Research Blog Posts

How to measure a zebrafish larva’s highly stereotyped response to water motion?

At the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg, Germany, Groneberg and colleagues researched one of the neural bases for behavior in Danio rerio.

How to study ataxia

Ataxia is a common problem in Parkinson’s disease (PD), and many early onset Alzheimer’s disease patients (AD) also deal with it. Now there is a non-invasive test for mouse models.

Bonobos not always as tolerant as generally believed: the plot thickens…

In Planckendael Wild Animal Park (Belgium), researchers have been observing a group of bonobos and have found that the differences between chimpanzees and bonobos are not always as black and white as generally believed.

A new method to evaluate if dogs are suitable for IED bomb detection

Margaret Gruen and her colleagues recently investigated a new method to assess sound induced fear and anxiety in candidate IED-detection dogs – specifically, Labrador retrievers.

Alzheimer's: prevent instead of cure?

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a huge public health issue as it affects a large part of the aging population. Neuropathology is studied primarily in the end stages of the disease. What about prevention?

Prof. Berry Spruijt says goodbye (but not really)

Prof. Dr. Berry M. Spruijt recently retired from his position at Utrecht University. I had the honor of attending the symposium that was organized to reflect on and celebrate his career.

Which head and neck positions are stressful for your horse during lunging?

Being a horse owner and a Noldus employee is the perfect combination when it comes to keeping track of the scientific background for my horseback riding hobby.

Gait research: let your animals walk freely

Researchers use different ways to analyze gait in animals. In what instances would a study benefit from a system that is based on voluntary walking?

Video-tracking the effect of influenza infection on ferrets

Ferrets are the ideal animal model to assess influenza virus infection and pathogenicity as they display similar clinical symptoms to humans such as sneezing, fever and lethargy.

10 behavioral studies on Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s

This blog post features 10 interesting studies that use innovative techniques to study models of AD and PD and important underlying neuronal mechanisms.

How Ginkgo biloba helps treat Alzheimer’s

Xu Liu and colleagues recently investigated the effects of Ginkgo biloba extract on a mouse model for Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

Motivation and eating: deep brain imaging in freely moving mice

Craving a snack, the joy of eating it. The part of our brain that regulates this is the lateral hypothalamus. An interesting targer for addiction and eating disorder research.