Animal Behavior Research Blog Posts

How Automatic Rat Behavior Recognition was developed

If you are familiar with neurobehavioral research in any way, you will know that variables like velocity and distance moved are important parameters in a lot of animal behavioral experiments.

Measuring behavioral effects of laboratory rearing on starlings

Rearing animals specifically for behavioral research is a very common practice. However, the results from behavioral studies with laboratory animals should be interpreted with care.

Top 5 novel object recognition articles

Novel object recognition is one of the most commonly used behavioral tests on laboratory rodents. It is also easily automated with video tracking software. Want to know how?

Primate behavior - cracking the nut, fur rubbing & mating behavior

Interested in primatology? Today we present to you three blog posts and a couple of interesting websites!

Making the impossible possible – Tracking under water in the dark

European eels (Anguilla anguilla) have a life cycle in which both larvae and adults travel incredible distances. The eggs hatch in the Sargasso Sea near North America and the larvae swim all the way to Europe.

Smelly feet and heat – how malaria mosquitoes find their hosts

It seems that mosquitoes use human body odor to locate suitable hosts, and different people smell differently to mosquitoes.

Testing PCBs toxicity - behavior in zebrafish and their offspring

PCBs are synthetic molecules that were used in transformers, electric motors, and more applications. It was quickly discovered that these molecules are toxic, and subsequently, they were banned.

Unraveling the chemistry of mood disorders

The most common psychiatric disorders are mood and anxiety related. However, the underlying mechanisms of these diseases are still largely unknown. This complicates the development of effective treatment and drugs.

Standing cows

Does it matter how much time a cow spends standing up or lying down? Bert Tolkamp thought that it did matter, and he proved his point by winning an IgNobel prize for his work on this.

How zebrafish and optogenetics are great for investigating stress

By this point, we do not need to tell you how popular zebrafish are. We also probably do not need to point out the great technological advances that are being made in research because of the use of optogenetics.

Using CatWalk gait analysis to study monoarthritis in mice

Researchers are always looking for new ways to alleviate symptoms of arthritis. The CatWalk XT has been shown to be very useful in research involving arthritis in rodent models.

The effects of quantum dots on zebrafish larvae locomotor behavior

Ever heard of quantum dots? These dots are nanoparticles made of a semiconductor material, which have unique optical properties, making them of great interest for fields such as biological imaging, medical diagnostics.